The First Lesson of the Dao-Ending Period

Somehow, dust particles floated up above the Sword-Wielding Mountain as mist rolled around in the sky. Ominous dark clouds came surging from all directions.

A gale swept from the sky as the abundant spiritual energy began to tremble. The air pressure went down so abruptly that it raised goosebumps on one's skin and made shivers rack down one's spine.

Even when he was lying in his master's warm and soft embrace, Xiao Ran was trembling from the cold. He wished he could bury himself into her soft mounts.

Lingzhou Yue looked up into the sky with a slight frown.

"What a rare occurrence."

With a wave of her large sleeve, a hovering green Bagua array was manifested.

Xiao Ran left her arms automatically upon seeing that.

Clearing his mind, he stood in the center of the Bagua array that was glowing green as though he was standing on a piece of floating glass. With his eyes closed, his breath held, and his attention focused, he listened to the world.

Xiao Ran noted the odd spiritual pressure in the clouds. The space within them was contorting as though something strange was about to happen.

"Looks like… it's coming for you," said Lingzhou Yue.

Xiao Ran opened his eyes.

"It?"

His master had obviously sensed something he could not hear.

By picking up the Art of Resonance, Xiao Ran had tuned in to the world and his divine sense had grown. In spite of this, he was still very far away from his master.

In the blink of an eye, dark fog clouded the sky. Suddenly, a bloody red slit tore the dim sky.

Crimson blood dripped from the slit, staining the sky.

A ginormous dark and withered human arm stretched from the blood-red space fissure as if going through unlimited time and dimensions. It extended down endlessly, grabbing for Xiao Ran.

After a closer look, it seemed like billions and trillions of closely-packed white eyes had cracked open on the gigantic palm!

As if bringing with them grief from the most ancient times and boundless silent oppression, the trillions of white eyes were opening and closing in a bizarre rhythm as though trillions of universes were born and went extinct at the same time.

Xiao Ran's eyes bulged as his heart stopped. His breath was stuck in his throat. It felt like a large formless hand that could tear the universe apart was tearing at his spiritual roots through the air. It also felt like fragments of sticky, eerie words that could not be made out clearly were knocking at his soul like a phantom bell.

The Wraith!

Xiao Ran reacted swiftly once he caught a hold of himself.

This was his first time seeing the legendary Wraith!

According to the theoretical knowledge he had amassed in three years, the Wraith was said to be something untamable and the culprit of the Dao-Ending Period!

It usually appeared by tearing through the sky where spiritual energy was higher in concentration. Wraiths had unnamed tangible forms with all sorts of odd shapes but usually had black withered arms, large and wide white eyes, and red blood dripping from their eyes.

When they appeared, they were usually accompanied by strange natural phenomena, such as grieving whispers, howls, or ominous ghostly air, or they even triggered an extensive area of disaster.

It kind of felt like Cthulhu1 in Xiao Ran's previous life.

To cultivators, Wraiths were a menace for three reasons. One could not look directly at them, one could not touch them, and they could absorb spiritual energy.

If one looked directly at a Wraith, the weak would faint immediately while the strong would go into hysterics over the people who had looked directly at it. Only powerful experts who were specifically trained mentally could barely remain sane, but this would still significantly slow their reflexes and diminish their combat power.

As far as not touching a Wraith was concerned, anyone who touched a Wraith would be dragged into the space fissure. Weak people would die with shattered souls, while strong ones would be attacked by more Wraiths in the space fissure, hardly surviving as a result.

The Wraith area could absorb spiritual energy. A Wraith's physical body was like a bottomless black hole that could rapidly absorb the spiritual energy around it and devour all spiritual pressure, spells, or the spiritual energy contained in spiritual tools.

Due to these reasons, Wraiths were natural enemies of cultivators.

When facing Wraiths of the same level, cultivators could only be subdued without any possibility of retaliating regardless of their number.

The first lesson of the Dao-Ending Period… was that one could not see, hear, or even think of hesitating upon encountering a Wraith. Running was the only option—and then it was all up to fate.

If it were not for his master, Xiao Ran would have considered fleeing.

If what his master had said was true and the Wraith was there for him, escaping would be useless. He would be the safest if he stayed beside his master.

Why had the Wraith come for him, however? Was this a side effect of the Art of Resonance?

The more Xiao Ran thought about it, the more terrifying it felt.

Lingzhou Yue's clear bright eyes glinted with an ecstatic sword light.

"Interesting… It's a humanoid Wraith."

It was said that humanoid Wraiths were elites among Wraiths. As if they were civilized, they rarely made an appearance.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

Zongzhi Mountain was echoing with a warning air defense bell. Low-tier disciples of the sect acted instantly and made their way into the cave orderly.

Usually, fighting Wraiths was a task of the Sect Leader, Elders, Trainers, and Direct Disciples.

The ginormous hand started picking up speed!

The sorrowful sound grew sharper and more frenzied as it howled in ecstasy, like the start of a bizarre battle song that tore into the scalps of those listening.

Lingzhou Yue took a step forward.

With the bamboo wine in her right hand, she pulled out her sword with her left hand and raised her head to say, "You gotta send a better Wraith to snatch someone of mine."

As she was staring at the trillions of white eyes, her eyes reflected stars like she had passed through innumerable dimensions.

While the chasm was staring at Xiao Ran, Lingzhou Yue was staring at the chasm.

Suddenly, the shriveled black hand that was coming down fast halted.

The trillions of white eyes in the palm reflected Lingzhou Yue's sword light in unison. The stars lit up and dimmed like the ever-starry Milky Way.

The dried black arm froze with a momentary jolt before the trillions of white eyes shrieked soundlessly as if their souls were being torn apart.

After the beat of a pause, the arm slithered back into the blood-red space fissure like an eel.

The space fissure closed up at once and disappeared in the sky. Dark clouds went away and a clear sky greeted the world once more as if nothing had happened.

Had the Wraith just… fled?

It was suddenly quiet.

Lingzhou Yue looked a little disappointed as she sheathed her sword and drank wine.

"This is all because of the humanoid Wraith?"

This was Xiao Ran's first time meeting a Wraith, and a high-level humanoid Wraith at that, yet the supposed bane of cultivators had escaped upon seeing his master?

He remembered the first lesson of the Dao-Ending Period: One could not see, hear, think, or hesitate when one met a Wraith. One could only run or pray hard.

Could this be the first lesson the Wraiths learned? One could not see, hear, think, or hesitate when one met his master? One could only run and pray hard?

Was his master more terrifying than a Wraith?

The more Xiao Ran entertained the idea, the more scared he got. Slowly, his gaze on his master became different.

It had only been a short while from its appearance to the Wraith's escape. By the time the other Elders and Trainers of the sect came out, the Wraith was long gone.

A cultivator in white came riding on a sword and asked slowly, "Junior Uncle, where's the Wraith?"

Lingzhou Yue waved. "It ran away."

When the white-robed cultivator came closer, he cupped a palm over his fist to bow before Lingzhou Yue and said, "I'm afraid it must be quite powerful among the Wraiths if it fled when it met Junior Uncle."

Xiao Ran was dumbstruck.

Opting to flee when one noticed his master's strength meant that one was powerful?

His Art of Resonance, which allowed him to listen to the breathing of this world, was still unable to gauge how good his master was.

She was honestly unpredictable!

Xiao Ran decided that he must absolutely cling to his master and then reap as many DP off her as he could…

Lingzhou Yue took a sip of wine and glanced at the white-robed cultivator out of the corner of her eyes.

"Back when you and I fought to become Sword-Wielding Elders, you wouldn't have been impaired by the sword if you had fled like this Wraith. You'd have become an Acting Sect Leader by now."

The white-dressed cultivator shook his head lightly. He was not angry. He was merely smiling silently.

They had such a past? Xiao Ran took a glimpse at said cultivator unconsciously.

He was a tall and lean young man with a classical appearance. His features were gentlemanly and almost unbridled. His eyes, which looked sharp, exuded a constant softness that stayed away from contests. He gave off an androgynous vibe. Perhaps, it would be more suitable to call him androgynous.

Xiao Ran wondered if the sword impairment that his master had mentioned meant that he was emasculated…

Cough...

The man in white was checking Xiao Ran out as well. His gaze remained gentle, but his attitude was unreadable. He cupped a palm over his fist.

"This must be Junior Uncle's new disciple, Xiao Ran. Hi, Junior Brother Xiao."

Before Xiao Ran could return the greeting, Lingzhou Yue felt eager to mark her possession and introduced them. "This is the Sect Leader's Direct Disciple. He's… Right, what's your name again?"

The white-robed man was not ruffled.

"Bo Yunzi."

It was only then that Xiao Ran paid his respects with a cupped fist.

"Nice to meet you, Senior Brother Bo Yunzi."

Perhaps it was because he had lost Lingzhou Yue, but Bo Yunzi believed her judgment when it came to picking disciples was right. At least, the man before him was handsome!

"Junior Uncle is very sharp. Junior Brother Xiao looks promising and handsome. With time, he'll definitely follow Junior Uncle's steps."

Lingzhou Yue was unfazed by the pleasantries.

"You must have something to do to come here, right?"

Bo Yunzi bowed with a cupped fist again.

"Master's alarmed by the Wraith and has decided to come out of his closed-door cultivation to call for an Elder meeting. He wants to meet Junior Brother Xiao as well."

"When?"

"In two hours in the Ruling Tower."

"Alright."

Lingzhou Yue did not ask much after Bo Yunzi left.

Everyone had their secrets in the cultivation world.

Lingzhou Yue did not ask how Xiao Ran had picked up the Art of Resonance so swiftly or how he had attracted the Wraith. She only gulped down more wine.

Casual as she was, she was still a master. Xiao Ran was deeply impressed.

He had a premonition that the Elder meeting two hours later would possibly be an open judgment of the Sword-Wielding Mountain.

He took precautions, as he wanted to make sure their answers would be the same. Thus, he asked, "Is there a reminder in regards to the Elder meeting, Master?"

Lingzhou Yue raised her pot to drink, but there was no wine left. She answered grumpily, "No."