Chapter 505: Condensing the Heart of Reaching the Summit

[Your True Soul is returning.]

Yan Jing looked at the prompt floating in front of him, his brows furrowing slightly.

The connection between people only went this far...

These words once again stirred up dust-covered memories in Yan Jing's mind.

It seemed he...

...had faced a choice like this before.

"Did you two never meet again?"

Yan Jing looked at the vast sea of fog before him.

Mo Lian shook her head, smiling calmly.

"I'm a prisoner. Reaching out to him again would only bring him harm."

Yan Jing nodded and asked no more.

"I'll give you your reward when you leave the Inner World this time," Yan Jing said.

"Thank you, my lord," Mo Lian said with a smile.

They spoke no more. The Ancestor Hand sped through the clouds. Two or three hours passed before it began to slow down, gradually lowering its altitude. "We're here."

Yan Jing looked down.

Below lay a slowly rotating Domain.

It rotated so slowly its residents wouldn't feel much, but from high above, one could see the angles of the buildings constantly shifting.

Paima County. Cannot Catch Up Even By Whipping the Horse.

Yan Jing had the Ancestor Hand drop them off outside a village far from Paima County.

Mo Lian stared wide-eyed at the abandoned village.

She had been here before.

The old site of Huang Family Village.

She had completed Dungeon quests here.

"Does anyone still live here?"

Mo Lian peered into the village. Compared to her last visit, it looked far more desolate.

Last time, there had been at least a few residents. Now, it lacked even a trace of life.

Through the village gates, she looked toward the house near the entrance where she had stayed.

The welcoming old man who used to sit by the door was gone. All that remained was a heavily worn recliner.

"Fewer people live here now, but someone is still around," Yan Jing said.

He walked toward the main gate.

Just half a meter from the entrance, a barrier of air suddenly appeared before him.

Mo Lian looked up, finally realizing that the entirety of Huang Family Village was isolated from the outside world, enveloped in a hemispherical air barrier.

"This is a master at work..."

Mo Lian gasped in awe, her mouth hanging open.

The next instant, a current of air slowly radiated outward from the barrier. It wasn't fast, but it carried a forceful weight, pushing them backward. Caught off guard, Mo Lian was swept back several meters and nearly face-planted into the dirt.

Yan Jing reached out and gently pressed a hand against the expanding current. With a slight pulse of force, he shattered the flow.

"Senior, this junior is a friend of Liu Fu. I have matters to discuss with him and came specifically to request a meeting."

"...Leave. Until Liu Fu becomes a second-rate Martial Cultivator, he will not see outsiders."

Yet Yan Jing kept his hands clasped and bowed deeply.

"Could Senior allow this junior to speak with Liu Fu? If he confirms this, I will certainly not intrude again."

There was no response from the other side. A short while later, a white-haired Old Man appeared at the far end of the village's main road, walking toward the gate.

The Old Man's steps appeared unsteady, but his speed was terrifyingly fast. Mo Lian felt that one second he was at the well on the other side of the village, and the very next, he had reached the entrance.

His face, wrinkled like a chrysanthemum, peered at them through the air barrier, his gaze as sharp as a hawk's.

"Where are you from?"

"Bianliu County. I'm the current magistrate."

The Old Man sneered.

"Do you know that after the last incident, the Vice Prefecture Lord was furious? The only reason he hasn't caused trouble for your Bianliu County is because the East and West Lake Prefectures are locked in intense warfare right now, leaving him no time to spare."

"Yet here you are, serving your head on a platter."

"Leave quickly. There are many eyes around my place. If you run now, you might still escape."

"It's no matter," Yan Jing chuckled.

"There aren't many people in Minhu that I fear."

Hearing this, the Old Man lifted his eyelids and gave Yan Jing an indescribable look. After a few seconds, he sighed.

"Turns out you're just delusional. Hurry up and leave, and don't come back."

"..."

Beside him, Mo Lian clamped her hands over her mouth. She had really tried her best, but she simply couldn't hold it back any longer.

Yan Jing didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"I'm telling the truth. I really need to see Old Master Liu. Please, make an exception."

At the mention of "Old Master Liu," the Old Man finally reacted.

He raised his eyes and looked Yan Jing up and down before muttering, "Tsk... that brat's friend sure looks odd... all edges and angles..."

"..."

Mo Lian ran off into the distance.

She really couldn't keep herself from bursting out laughing.

Yan Jing smiled helplessly.

"Will you let me in now?"

"Hold on. Not yet."

The Old Man suddenly raised an eyebrow and grinned.

"Kid, do you know the Martial Dao?"

"The Martial Dao? I only know a little," Yan Jing answered truthfully.

He had never formally studied the Martial Dao.

His understanding had mostly been pieced together through repeated observation of the Ghost Killing Stance and his battles with powerful enemies.

But the Old Man's eyes lit up like he had just discovered a treasure.

"Since you know a little, let's exchange some moves."

"Exchange moves with you?" Yan Jing intentionally raised his voice and smiled.

"You are the number one Great Grandmaster Rank of the East Lake Prefecture. This junior won't embarrass himself."

"Save it."

The Old Man puffed out his beard.

"Eyesight, hand strength, footwork, waist strength, body power—pick one. If you win, not only will I let you see Liu Fu, but I'll throw in a treasure as a gift."

"Sure." Yan Jing nodded with a smile.

"Then I'll choose eyesight."

"Alright."

The Old Man nodded. He pulled a handful of fine sand from his sleeve, passed his hand through the air barrier, and placed it into Yan Jing's hand.

"Feel this sand. Is there any trick to it?"

"No."

"One person tosses the sand and catches it, and the other guesses the exact number of grains caught. We each take a turn. Whoever guesses closest wins."

"Fine by me."

Yan Jing accepted the sand and asked, "Will you toss first, or shall I?"

"I'll go first."

The Old Man flicked his wrist. The movement was incredibly light, yet the sand spread out evenly. Though it was merely a small handful, it somehow blotted out half the sky, as if a sudden sandstorm had descended.

Standing amidst the sand, the Old Man gently let out a breath. In the next instant, without any visible motion to catch it, the sky cleared completely, as if the sand had never been there at all.

Immediately after, the Old Man looked at Yan Jing.

"How many grains of sand are in my hand?"

"...247 grains."

Yan Jing controlled the rapidly spinning core inside his Video Camera head, constantly analyzing until he arrived at the result.

The Old Man raised his eyebrows.

"You really do have some skill."

Then, he chuckled.

"You're very smart. During my previous motion, I made four fake catching gestures. Since you couldn't tell whether I had actually caught any sand during those four feints, you just went with a middle number and assumed I caught it twice."

"But in truth, I caught sand on all four."

The Old Man opened his palm, revealing an extremely tiny cluster of sand.

"249 grains. Do you want to count them?"

"No need."

Yan Jing smiled faintly.

"This junior naturally trusts you."

The Old Man nodded in satisfaction.

"Your turn."

"Alright." Yan Jing's movements were nowhere near as flashy as the Old Man's. He merely flipped his palm downward, opened his hand, and closed it again before looking at the Old Man. "Take a guess."

It was a simple motion, and the nearby Mo Lian couldn't see anything unusual about it, but the Old Man raised his eyebrows once again.

"You really are something, kid. You should have come to find me in the East Lake Prefecture back then. You should have practiced martial arts."

Yan Jing shook his head with a smile.

"This junior lacks Old Master Liu's talent. Learning from you would only be a waste of your time, Senior."

The Old Man laughed.

"It looked like you simply opened and closed your hand, but in reality, there were sixteen downward grasping motions."

"Furthermore, two of those grabs deliberately mimicked the fake catching motions I just used."

"But your mimicking is still too superficial. There is a difference in muscle extension between a fake catch and a real catch. Even though you intentionally adjusted your muscles to compensate, that sort of difference cannot be deliberately hidden."

"319 grains."

The Old Man confidently announced his number.

Yan Jing smiled.

The Old Man truly lived up to his reputation.

He had indeed caught exactly that many in his hand.

But that was only a moment ago.

Then, he opened his hand.

The Old Man's eyes instantly widened, his pupils shrinking.

Because Yan Jing's palm was completely empty.

Or rather, there was sand, but the Old Man could no longer see it.

Yan Jing had thoroughly crushed the sand, even sending the majority of it into a Space Rift. And all of these changes had taken place entirely within the confines of his palm. "Zero grains. It seems this junior has won this round."

Yan Jing smiled.

The Old Man stared at Yan Jing's palm for a long time before finally letting out a breath.

"You did that with pure physical strength?"

"Yes." Yan Jing nodded with a smile.

"This junior was born with a bit of brute strength, which is the only reason I haven't starved to death."

The Old Man shook his head and sighed.

"The world is changing."

"If someone like you had existed in the past, what place would there ever be for an old geezer like me?"

"This junior could never match Senior's contributions to the Martial Dao lineage of the Lake Prefecture."

"Spare me the flattery," the Old Man said, his eyes bulging. "Don't think you've won. You cheated."

"But—"

The Old Man turned his back. "I also never explicitly said cheating wasn't allowed."

"Take this."

The Old Man lightly stamped his foot, and a Jade Pendant flew up from his waist, landing cleanly in Yan Jing's hand.

"That Jade Pendant contains three of my lethal strikes. It can block three blows from a second-rate Cultivator."

"This old man is poor, so this is all I have. Keep it if it catches your eye."

"Thank you, Senior." Yan Jing smiled and tucked the Jade Pendant away.

He had no use for it himself, but he could later give it to Mantou or Teacher Shen.

The Old Man said nothing more and walked toward the well at the far end of the village's main street.

The air barrier at the village entrance automatically vanished.

Yan Jing led Mo Lian into Huang Family Village.

"Wait here, I have business to attend to."

Yan Jing said to Mo Lian as he watched the Old Man walk away without slowing down.

"Will do, will do." Mo Lian nodded like a pounding mortar.

Yan Jing picked up his pace and followed the Old Man.

A short while later, the two arrived in front of a wooden cabin by the well.

The Old Man raised a hand and knocked on the door.

"Little Fu, your friend is here."

Bang.

The door burst open instantly.

Wearing a heavy military overcoat, Old Master Liu charged out from within. With a single leap, he bounded right in front of Yan Jing and planted his hands on his hips.

"Haha, Yi boy, you're doomed! My cultivation level has soared, you couldn't catch up to me now even by whipping your horse!"

No sooner had he spoken than the Old Man pulled out a wooden switch from nowhere and whacked Old Master Liu on the backside.

"How many times have I told you? A Martial Cultivator must act like a Martial Cultivator!"

"Ouch!"

Old Master Liu immediately reined himself in obediently and bowed.

"Look at this behavior. 'Couldn't catch up by whipping your horse' indeed. At this rate, someone will just reach out and swat you to death..." Grumbling all the way, the Old Man left, giving the two of them some space.

Hearing the Old Man's words, Old Master Liu's eyes went wide as he stared at Yan Jing.

"My master didn't make things difficult for you, did he, Yi boy?"

"No, it was just a normal chat," Yan Jing chuckled.

"Don't overthink it, Old Master Liu."

"No, no, no, no. There is absolutely something fishy going on here."

Old Master Liu furrowed his brow, his expression vigilant, shaking his head like a rattle-drum.

He knew his own teacher.

He rarely praised people.

And he certainly wasn't the type to boost another person's prestige.

Clearly, Yan Jing must have done something out of the ordinary to bring about such a situation.

"Spit it out! What Tier are you at now?"

Old Master Liu stared fixedly at Yan Jing.

Yan Jing instinctively averted his gaze.

"Seventh Rank."

"What have you been eating?!!"

Old Master Liu roared, deeply pained.

"I told you long ago not to just eat random trash you find on the street! Tonics, stimulants, Jinkela—all of those things cause massive damage to the body!!!"

"What in the world are you talking about!" Yan Jing laughed.

"Lucky encounters! Don't you understand lucky encounters, Old Master?"

"Bullshit!" Old Master Liu turned his head away, refusing to acknowledge the reality that Yan Jing had caught up to him. He was thoroughly heartbroken:

"You've fallen from grace, Yi boy!!!"

Yan Jing smiled.

If there was anyone left who could still banter and trade barbs with him like this, it was probably only Old Master Liu right in front of him, and Chen Nian.

He crouched down.

"I came here this time because I have something to ask you, Old Master."

"What a coincidence! I've been wanting to look for you too, Yi boy!"

Old Master Liu crouched down as well.

A scene that had played out numerous times in the past was happening all over again.

Two Seventh Ranks squatting on the ground like a couple of street ruffians. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought they were discussing where to go panhandling tomorrow. "I think we might be pondering the exact same matter," Old Master Liu whispered secretively.

"Then it is absolutely impossible for it to be the same matter," Yan Jing pre-emptively shut it down.

"You speak first, then."

Old Master Liu stretched out his hand in a polite gesture, yielding the floor.

"I ran into a problem..."

Yan Jing sighed and gave a rough summary of the matter, only he changed the protagonist of the story to Yi Ji.

Old Master Liu narrowed his eyes after listening.

A few seconds later, he nodded.

"I get it!"

"You get what?" Yan Jing quickly asked.

"You did something that wronged Nizi! You went and found another one!"

Old Master Liu pulled out his Smoking Pipe from his pocket, instantly going into full detective mode.

"So you completely missed the point!"

Yan Jing laughed out of sheer exasperation.

"Then prove it. Tell me you haven't wronged Nizi."

Old Master Liu pointed his Smoking Pipe squarely at Yan Jing.

"See? What did I tell you!" Old Master Liu stood up triumphantly, looking down at the silent Yan Jing.

"This is a little different," Yan Jing said with a bitter smile.

"There is nothing different about it."

Old Master Liu wagged his finger.

"You found one, and then because of certain events, you bumped into another, and then you bumped into another, and then you bumped into another, and then..." "Stop, stop, stop!" Yan Jing waved his hand.

"There aren't nearly that many."

"It doesn't matter how many there are," Old Master Liu continued.

"I know you. You meet a new one, and then you feel that if you don't agree to be with her, you're wronging her. But if you do agree, you're wronging the other one. And if you agree to both this one and that one, you're wronging them both."

"This isn't about agreeing or not agreeing."

Yan Jing also stood up.

"We aren't talking about agreeing to anyone. We're talking about who is wronging whom!"

Old Master Liu looked at Yan Jing.

"But wronging this person and wronging that person are two entirely different things," Yan Jing sighed.

"Is that so? Are they two different things to the girls as well?" Old Master Liu pointed his Smoking Pipe at Yan Jing.

Yan Jing froze.

Old Master Liu slowly began to speak.

"You feel you've wronged someone because you got them killed, versus wronging someone because you killed their heart—is there really a difference between the two?"

"Either way, you wronged them. On what grounds do you brush off the latter situation, yet remain so deeply hung up on the former?"

Yan Jing smiled bitterly.

"Then what should I do? After hearing you say that, Old Master, I'm now completely hung up on the latter one, too."

"Wrong!"

Old Master Liu fiercely knocked his Smoking Pipe against the ground.

"You still don't understand what I mean."

"Then what exactly do you mean, Old Master?"

"What I mean is..."

Old Master Liu rubbed his fingers together, and the tobacco in the Smoking Pipe naturally ignited. He took a drag, narrowed his eyes, and exhaled a ring of smoke. "What I mean is, your own thoughts don't matter at all."

"If your thoughts mattered, you could feel you were in the right today, feel guilty tomorrow, and feel justified again the day after. The fact is, the deed has already been done. If you truly only care about your own thoughts, solving this issue is simple."

"But in reality, that is the wrong approach."

Old Master Liu looked toward the east and took another drag.

"Back then, I felt that leaving was what was best for my kid and their mother."

"I felt that by leaving, I was doing right by everyone—my first master, my lineage, my wife, my child, my friends, that brat Bi Jie..."

"But it was only when I finally returned that I realized I had wronged every single one of them."

"When it comes to whether you've wronged someone or not..."

"You aren't the one who gets to decide, Yi boy."

Yan Jing stared blankly at the ground, then raised his head and said, "So you think I should ask her face to face?"

"But she's already dead."

"Perhaps," Old Master Liu replied.

"It's just a perhaps, but..."

He suddenly grew incredibly mysterious.

"I've heard a legend about being able to pull people out from the River of Time."

"Have you heard of it?"

"I..."

The words reached the tip of Yan Jing's tongue, but he stopped himself.

He certainly had heard of it.

From the mouths of those existences behind the great curtain.

They were desperately trying to leave the great curtain at all costs, seemingly to accomplish this very thing.

"So what you're saying, Old Master, is..."

"Go, go forth and become even stronger, youth! A bright and beautiful future awaits you!" Old Master Liu flipped open an edgy comic book he had brought from Old Sin City and loudly recited the lines from its pages.

"Where did you even pull that out from? Never mind, that's not important." Yan Jing's gaze grew deep as he carefully recalled the answers he had received from different people. [I know you wouldn't not come, I know it very well.]

[If that girl is still alive, go find her and have a chat; if she is already dead, then find a way to forget her; and if you can't do either, then just make sure you remember her well.]

[She was so close to you, how could she possibly blame you?]

[When it comes to whether you've wronged someone or not, you aren't the one who gets to decide, kid.]

"Right, I have to go ask."

Yan Jing's gaze gradually shifted from bewildered to crystal clear. As if he had cemented some sort of resolve, he took a deep breath, feeling a certain energy bubbling and surging within his body.

If he wanted to reach the River of Time, aside from asking those existences who had already left the great curtain, the best method was to ask the great curtain itself.

And if he wanted to reach the space where the great curtain resided, he would have to reach the Summit.

Yan Jing felt an unknowable place somewhere inside his body, where an illusory heart was currently thumping loudly.

Right now, it was solidifying at a rapid pace.

That was his heart of reaching the summit.

His reason for seeking the Summit was:

He wanted to turn back time.

Although he had no idea why this was his reason, it was indeed how things had unfolded.

Beside him, Old Master Liu sensed the changes occurring within Yan Jing and nodded in satisfaction.

He stepped off to the side, intending to give Yan Jing some time to adapt.

But suddenly, as he looked at Yan Jing's current state, certain images flashed incessantly through his mind.

Those visions were filled with fragmented faces. Like a shattered mirror, only isolated pieces of brows and eyes could be seen.

Just as he strained his eyes to make sense of them, those broken mirrors suddenly shook violently. The intense tremors struck his head like a heavy hammer.

The shattered mirrors completely vanished, as if they had never been there at all.

Even so, he had used every ounce of his strength and managed to see one of those fragments clearly, which instantly left him rooted to the spot.

It was the face of Yi Ji.

Such a scene... how could he... it felt like he had seen this somewhere before?