Hello all, Majestic Feathers here. I’m extremely excited about this novel as it’s by one of my favorite Chinese web-authors, so I couldn’t resist picking this one up. I haven’t read this book, so I only know what happens a little before you guys do. Normally I will do posts on Sundays, but I’ll post an extra one since the last chapter was so short and to honor my website launch.
“As all things are destroyed through dependent origination, all mental phenomena are also extinguished. This is called attaining Nirvana through the ultimate natural state of cause and effect.”
Half asleep, Mu Xue could faintly hear the sounds of chants in her ears. The sound seemed to be both distant and close, sometimes subtle and sometimes grand, constantly singing in her ears.
Mu Xue felt uneasy and turned over. She was a demonic cultivator, so how could she hear such Buddhist music?
She wanted to wake up, but her eyelids felt as heavy as lead and she couldn’t break free from her dreams. The outside world was bright and comfortable, and a gentle hand was stroking her head.
Although it was in her dream, she knew clearly that it was her mother.
“Xiao Xue, this technique is called the Infinite Reincarnation Secret Technique. It was created by exploiting a gap in the path to the heavens. It is the supreme skill that can protect your reincarnation, keep your soul clear and worry-free for a hundred generations. However, it must never be revealed to others, or else…”
“Or else what?” Mu Xue asked groggily.
Her mother just smiled and whispered something in a low voice.
Mu Xue opened her eyes.
She lay on a bed of dried thatch and looked up at the blue sky. The sun, which had risen high in the sky, generously scattered its warmth and light across the earth in circles of glimmering shadows.
Mu Xue stared in astonishment for a while, gradually returning to her senses.
This was no longer the floating city where snow and rain mingled, but an ordinary small town inhabited by mortals. The town was bathed in sunshine, with a peaceful and beautiful sky, unlike the violent thunder and lightning she had experienced before her death.
She couldn’t help but recall the day when she failed to cross the tribulation. The sky was covered with ominous clouds, and purple lightning, accompanied by the power of ghosts and gods, striking relentlessly. It seemed determined to wipe her off the face of the earth.
The pain of her body burning and the despair of her soul breaking apart are deeply ingrained in Mu Xue’s memory.
After wandering for countless years, she finally entered the cycle of reincarnation and was reborn into the world of cultivation.
Today, she is no longer the golden core demonic cultivator who had perfected the techniques of alchemy in the floating city. She is now just a six-year-old girl without any cultivation.
Mu Xue placed her hand on her chest where there was a secret tantric seal that only she could feel. When she was young, her mother had blessed her with the “Infinite Reincarnation Secret Technique”. With this technique, the holder’s soul remains clear and their memories intact after reincarnation, assisting them in returning to the path of cultivation and pursuing the great way.
The path of cultivation is perilous, but with this seal protecting her, she would no longer fear the limits of life and death. It truly was the supreme secret technique that all cultivators yearned for.
The only taboo was that this technique was not tolerated by the heavens and whoever obtained it could not reveal its secrets to the world.
Of course, as it pertains to one’s cultivation path and one’s own life, it is impossible for anyone to willingly reveal even a bit of the secret.
Mu Xue’s fingertip, resting on her chest, trembled slightly.
If that’s the case, why did her mother reveal this technique to her?
In her past life, Mu Xue’s mother had passed away when she was still young, so her memory of her was quite blurry. Her mother’s vague image and a few sentences from a dream only resurfaced in her mind after her reincarnation.
Although Mu Xue was grateful to her mother, as a pure demon cultivator raised in Fuwang City, she actually did not understand the true meaning of the word “mother”. She couldn’t comprehend the joys of family and kinship that others often talk about.
She devoted her life to cultivation and was obsessed with it, to the point where the concepts of family ties or romantic relationships meant nothing to her.
On the path to enlightenment, cultivation was the most important thing.
If one attains perfection in a single moment of cultivation, they can ride the flying dragon, drive through the purple mist, roam freely in the great emptiness, and achieve liberation without restraint. What happiness in the mortal world could compare to this? If not, why did people, like those who killed their wives to achieve enlightenment and entered a state of murderous frenzy, keep appearing in the world?
For example, no matter how she lived her life or died, her many years of hard work and cultivation faded away like a mere wisp of smoke. Her few friends from before had probably long forgotten that Mu Xue ever existed in this world.
Looking back, perhaps only the little disciple, Cen Qianshan, whom she had picked up by chance could still occasionally recall their former relationship as master and disciple.
Memories of the past flickered through Mu Xue’s mind like a bird skimming over the surface of a lake, stirring a trace of emotion within her.
She wondered how her poor little disciple from back then had fared. But with Cen Qianshan’s intelligence and quick wit, along with the things she had left behind before crossing the tribulation, he should have done well on his own. There was no need for her to worry about him anymore.
After so many years, that skinny little guy must have grown tall by now, right?
Why think about these things? Perhaps even Cen Qianshan no longer remembered her.
Sighing, six-year-old Mu Xue got up from the pile of hay and patted the dry grass off her body.
“Why are you here, little sister? You made it hard for me to find you. Today is the Lantern Festival. Mother called for you to come home early and go with us to the city to seek immortal ties,” gruffed her older brother, Dazhu, a tan-skinned young man from a farming family, wiped the sweat from his forehead.
He reached out his arms to embrace his young sister and lifted her down from the pile of hay.
The Lantern Festival, held every three years, was the most important festival here, and all the major cities would hold grand lantern processions and ceremonies.
This was because on this day, immortals of the Guoyuan Sect would descend onto the city walls to bless the people and select disciples with an immortal destiny to enter their sect for cultivation.
Although only a few of the thousands of children would be chosen, chances were indeed slim. But for ordinary people, just catching a glimpse of the mystical techniques of immortal cultivators and receiving a bit of their blessings was already more exhilarating than celebrating the New Year.
If one of their own children was lucky enough to be chosen, it was truly a cause for celebration and the family would enjoy a respected and prosperous life from then on.
As a result, within a radius of ten to twenty miles, regardless of distance, any family with children between the ages of six and thirteen would tidy up their children and select a family member to accompany them to the designated location for the “Immortal Destiny” ceremony on this day.
At this time, Mu Xue had also been tidied up by her family and was standing outside the door waiting for her older brother, Dazhu.
Mu Xue changed into a washed-out brown cotton jacket, tied her hair into two shiny small buns and added no other decorations. Her delicate beauty was highlighted by her black hair and snow-white cheeks, almond-shaped eyes radiating a bright and lively spirit. Even in this grand festival where everyone dressed up, the best attire her poor family could afford for her was an old cotton jacket without patches. But Mu Xue didn’t mind.
The fence next door creaked open, and Chunhua, two years older than Mu Xue, stepped out wearing a brand new red floral jacket. Chunhua looked down at Mu Xue’s brown cotton clothes and felt a sense of superiority rising within her. She boasted, “Today we are going to receive an immortal destiny and meet the gods. How can your family let you wear such shabby clothes? Don’t even bother acknowledging me when we get there.”
Looking at Chunhua’s smug expression, Mu Xue calmly retorted, “Your face is so sunburnt, and even if you wear a bright red jacket, it won’t matter. I bet the gods won’t even be able to see your face when it gets dark.”
Chunhua, who usually climbed mountains and played in water, was speechless after Mu Xue’s words. She pointed at Mu Xue and remained silent for a moment, unable to come up with a comeback. Then, she burst into tears.
This was her response?
This girl had such low fighting power.
Mu Xue sighed and touched her nose, feeling that this peaceful life had made people too fragile.
Not to mention herself in the past, even her disciple, Xiao Shan, with his skinny frame, could fight from one end of the street to the other in Fuwang City and still come home with a smile on his face. He never let you see a tear or any wounds under his clothes.
When Da Zhu came out, he saw Chunhua from next door, who was big and strong, pointing to his “cute and obedient” little sister with tears and snot running down her face.
The youngest sister in the family was born white as a snowball, quiet and well-behaved from an early age. Unfortunately, she was too soft. When yelled at by someone, she could only look helpless.
Da Zhu picked up his little sister and said fiercely, “Yao Chunhua, why are you bullying my little sister?”