Translator’s note: I saw a comment on Novel Updates saying how they were confused about the timeline as the novel goes on. So I think it might be helpful for me to include a translator’s note whenever we have major time skips to help you understand better in case you need it. All the events that take place over the course of the next 3.75 chapters happened over the past century. These are Yun Hai’s memories being relayed to us, the audience, through Xiao Fuxuan’s interrogation. Hope this helps!

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Over a hundred years ago, the Wang Capital still existed in the mortal realm, located just next to Taiyin Immortal Mountain.

The most important place in Wang Capital was called Heavenly Inquiring Palace, which enshrined the Lingtai Twelve Immortals. This place was responsible for divination with the heavens, and was also closely connected with the major cultivation sects.

Two palace envoys were in charge of the Heavenly Inquiring Palace, and Yun Hai’s father was one of them.

That job was both prestigious and dangerous, arousing both admiration and envy among others. During good times, they would have unparalleled luxury, but during bad times, it would be the end of them.

Yun Hai first met Hua Xin at the Heavenly Inquiring Chamber’s guest residence.

He was still young and pampered at the time, treating the Heavenly Inquiring Palace just like home. He frequently played around in the corridors between the mansions.

That day, he was chasing a pine marten in a corridor and almost ran into one of the guests here.

Just before he collided, a sudden gust of wind came out of nowhere, and in the next moment, a hand was already pressing against his forehead.

The people responsible for taking care of him shouted "be careful" and ran over. They hurriedly picked him up and took a few steps back, bowing their heads in front of the guest and looking cautious and frightened.

Yun Hai, who wasn’t afraid because of his ignorance, raised his head curiously.

That day, Hua Xin was in his mortal appearance. He didn’t have the white deer following him as drawn in the portrait, nor did he have his World-Lighting Lantern in his hand. He was wearing a plain white robe, his hair was loosely tied, with an ordinary wooden hairpin running through it diagonally.

This was the most common way people dressed on the streets of Wang Capital, but it still made everyone dumbfounded.

When Yun Hai came back to his senses, Hua Xin had already walked to the end of the corridor and walked into the living room. The white robe swept across the high threshold, turned, and disappeared.

Yun Hai turned his head, raised his face, and asked the person looking after him, "Who is that?"

They gave a "shh" motion and carried him away from the living room. After bringing him to the courtyard, they whispered, "He’s the master’s immortal friend."

At that time, Yun Hai knew very little of the world, let alone the rules between immortals and immortals.

He only ignorantly knew that: Strong with supernatural powers = Immortal. A close relationship = Friend.

That was what he thought of that "immortal friend". But only later did he find out, that person only appeared once every few years.

***

The second time Yun Hai met Mingwu Hua Xin was six years later.

Wang Capital was in chaos and was covered in filth. The Heavenly Inquiring Palace’s envoys have long been changed. His father was framed, and most of the people in their manor lost their lives. Now, their family manor has barely anyone left.

Although he was still young, he was the son of a sinner. He was not allowed to use his original name and was forced to follow a group of refugees to the south, arriving at Yuyang.

At that time, Yuyang sealed the city gates in fear that they would be brought into chaos, leaving the refugees nowhere to go. They could only temporarily live in a deserted temple in the mountains.

The winter of that year was freezing. Most of the refugees didn’t even manage to last a single month. Hence, in the mountain temple, corpses clustered everywhere. Their strong resentment then attracted many devils and sinister beings.

After the winter had passed, only a few people were still alive.

Yun Hai was among them.

One day, he stole food from a half-crippled yin being. The yin being broke his leg and scratched his left eye before he could hide in a cave.

He curled up behind the cave rock, wiped the blood from his left eye, grabbed the piece of meat from which he had no idea where it came from, and was about to gorge it down. But suddenly, he saw a lantern shadow in the cold night of the mountain forest.

It was already Yun Hai’s reflex to hide regardless of what he sees.

But that lantern shadow was too fast.

Before he could even take a step, the person holding the lantern already appeared in front of him.

Yun Hai remembered that face. Although he had only seen it once, he should not have remembered it, but for some reason, he remembered it so clearly as if it was carved in his head. Even after six years, he could still recognize it at a glance.

He was none other than the guest at Heavenly Inquiring Palace back then, his father’s immortal friend.

Yun Hai still looked up at him, exactly the way he did six years ago.

At that time, his wide-opened eyes were full of curiosity. Now, one of his eyes was blinded, and his blood-covered face was numb.

He dragged his broken leg, knelt behind a cold stone, and looked numbly at the person who had glanced at him back then. Then he heard him say, "I am requested to pick you up."His voice was very pretty. Breaking through the cold night, almost made him feel warmth.

Mortals were indeed weird. He didn’t cry when his family manor perished. He didn’t cry when he became a homeless beggar. He didn’t cry while suffering in the cold and hunger, and he didn’t cry after his leg was broken and his eye was blinded either…

But after hearing someone say that he was here to come to pick him up, his eyes turned red from the tears.

Yun Hai clenched the dead flesh in his hand and looked at Ming Wu Hua Xin expressionlessly.

When the other party reached out his hand, he suddenly burst out, grabbed the hand that was touching his forehead, and bit.

He bit down hard, immediately tasting blood.

In the smell of blood, he thought with resentment and hatred: Aren’t you an immortal friend? Since you are a friend, where were you when we were framed? Where were you when people died? Where were you when our family perished?!

Who requested you to come here, and what right do you have to show up before me?

These were all thoughts in his heart, but Hua Xin seemed to be able to hear those words.

After a long while, the mellifluous voice sounded above his head, "Lingtai has its own rules, I can’t interfere in those mortal affairs."

The voice was gentle and pleasant, but there was no deep emotion — not the grief of the death of a friend, not the guilt of a bystander, not even the slightest pity — it seemed to be mere words from a cold heart.

But after a long time, Yun Hai realized something: Immortals were supernatural compared to mortals. He shouldn’t even be able to bite him in the first place, let alone for blood to come out.

Yun Hai wasn’t doing anything, just letting him bite and vent freely.

Understanding this, he finally let go.

Hua Xin didn’t wipe the cuts and blood on his hands, but bent over to check his injured eyes and broken leg, and said, "Let’s go, I’ll take you back for treatment."

Yun Hai tilted his head and dodged his hand. He said in a hoarse voice, "I can’t walk."

Hua Xin didn’t mind about his resistance, but said a little surprised, "Your tongue is still there?"

Yun Hai: "……"

"I thought you couldn’t speak anymore," Hua Xin said as he raised his hand.

A white deer walked out from the woods behind him. He placed Yun Hai on the deer’s back and led the deer down the mountain.

Perhaps afraid that he would fall off, Yun Hai was completely unable to move the moment he got on the deer’s back. He could only live off their obedience as Hua Xin asked, "How old are you?"

Yun Hai sneered in his head and thought: You don’t even know this and you dare to call yourself my father’s "immortal friend".

Hua Xin replied calmly, "Years go by slower in the Immortal Capital, I don’t remember these things."

Yun Hai: "Eleven."

Hua Xin asked again, "Your name is?"

Yun Hao sneered in his head again.

Hua Xin continued before waiting for a response, "From now on, your common name will not be used. This current generation goes by ‘Yun’, so you shall be called… Yun Hai."1Sometimes, in larger sects, surnames (or sometimes the middle character for large families) would be separated by generations, with each having a new one. In this case, it is ‘Yun’, which also means cloud in a more general sense.

Yun Hai: "……"

Although he hadn’t used his real name for a long time, and was indeed about to forget, after hearing this, he still felt very sorrowful. Since he couldn’t move, he could only close his eyes in sadness.

From then on, he was called Yun Hai.

***

Mortals couldn’t climb the thirty-three-story tower of Taiyin Immortal Mountain, so they naturally couldn’t get to the Immortal Capital either.

The place Hua Xin meant when he said he was going to get him treated was in the Hua Sect.

One could say that he found a place to settle Yun Hai down, but in Yun Hai’s own eyes, Hua Xin was just ditching him at the Hua Sect.

At that time, the Hua Sect was not yet at Peach Blossom Island, and there were not as many disciples either. But they were also very prosperous.

Most of the Hua Family disciples entered sword cultivation, and a small number entered medical cultivation. Regardless of what one cultivated in, they would always be loaded with work every day.

Only Yun Hai was left out. He didn’t have a sword, nor did he have any pill recipe to cultivate medicine.

With nothing to do every day, he could only just walk around the Halls of Hua Sect after his eye and leg recovered.He asked the Hua Sect Sect Leader and the Elders of the various Halls what he should practice, or when he would obtain his own sword.

But in the end, the elders and the sect leader only praised his talent and luck. They said how he was a rare genius with excellent roots, and how bright his future would be as the personal disciple of the leader of the Lingtai Immortals, Hua Xin. They said that they must not tamper with his disciple, and that Yun Hai must wait for the Immortal Leader himself to come and teach.

"But when is he coming?!" Yun Hai said.

The Sect Leader and the elders couldn’t reply and just laughed dryly.

After repeating this several times, Yun Hai knew that there was nothing anyone could do for him and stopped asking those questions. Sometimes, when other disciples practiced swords, he would look and try to learn. When other disciples cultivated medicine, he would try to learn the process as well.

But more often, he spent his time in the library.

There was a divine statue and a portrait of Hua Xin in the library. He sometimes would grab a handful of books and just sit in front of the portrait all day. Half in a daze, half complaining.

As a high-spirited teenager, he couldn’t bear being ignored.

Besides, he really wanted to learn something and become capable.

He was inexplicably ignored like this for two years, until he almost lost his temper, and only then did he meet Hua Xin again.

Hua Xin seemed to have forgotten his only disciple. In fact, when he came to the Hua Sect, it wasn’t even for Yun Hai. didn’t. But naturally, Yun Hai would definitely not miss the opportunity and grabbed Hua Xin before he left.

He first obediently called "Master", before starting, "Everyone in the sect is cultivating, except for me who’s left out. Master, do you regret taking me in? If so, please tell me, I will leave on my own."

Being spoiled as a child, he had a bit of arrogance on him. Later when he became a beggar, he also became a little sharp and sensitive. Now, both his arrogance and his sensitivity were written on his face, unable to be hidden.

Hua Xin didn’t intend to answer him originally, but after looking at his face for a long time, he still explained, "Your roots are indeed excellent, a true prodigy. If you really want to cultivate, you would ascend to an immortal much easier than others. You don’t have to be in a hurry."

"Then how long do I have to wait?" Yun Hai asked.

"Until you are suitable to hold a sword," replied Hua Xin.

Yun Hai was unrelenting, "In what ways am I not suitable?"

Even after a time, Yun Hai still remembered the look in Hua Xin’s eyes at that moment. It was calm, as if he knew everything. He said, "Because you are always thinking about killing all those who framed your father, thinking about torturing those people and making them pay with blood."

Yun Hai was silent, then finally said, "Master, you are indeed wise. These are my precise thoughts. But am I wrong for that? Does cultivation have to be emotionless? No love, no hatred, no revenge, no resentment? To just be like you? To just calmly look at the common people suffer and do nothing?"

Hua Xin didn’t answer.

Yun Hao kept staring at him until his eyes were red, just like when he was struggling to survive while holding dead flesh in the stone cave.

Hua Xin finally said, "You don’t have to be like me. Cultivation is a long road, the path you’re looking for is too short."

"How is it short?" Yun Hai shouted.

"Killing is nothing more than a slash from your sword. Then what? You have no further goals to keep you moving."

Then I will worry about that after I have accomplished my former goals.

Yun Hai said in his heart. But he just moved his lips, and in the end, he bowed, "I understand, I… I’ll try."

To a certain extent, he was indeed a genius. After he said he would try, one couldn’t see any other thoughts in him. He no longer desperately wanted a sword, he no longer cared about the medical ingredients, and simply continued to stay in the library, day after day.

Another two years passed like that.

During the two years, Hua Xin came to Hua Sect three times. Yun Hai would always be in the library, and he never came out to seek an explanation from his master.

When Hua Xin met him again, he was completely different from the boy holding dead flesh in the cave.

In the words of the sect leader and the elders, Yun Hai had the most likable temperament among the disciples of the Hua Sect. He could make funny jokes and play all day, he could get along very well with everyone. He had an unhurried energy, very much like an immortal.

That year, he was only sixteen.

Upon hearing this, Hua Xin decided to continue testing him for another year.

Hence, at the age of seventeen, Yun Hai received his own sword.

***

Once, before the world had forgotten about him, there was such a description of Yun Hai——

A once-in-a-decade genius. After getting his own sword at the age of seventeen, he worked diligently for eight years. In eight years, he cultivated to a level that most people never achieve in their lives, ascending to immortal. He had a close relationship with his master, and from then on, they stayed there in the Immortal Capital.

Because he was so young, the day Yun Hai ascended has become a topic that immortals would often talk about. But for Yun Hai himself, what he remembered the clearest was not how he climbed the Taiyin Immortal Tower, nor how he entered the Immortal…

It was the two people that he met.1Sometimes, in larger sects, surnames (or sometimes the middle character for large families) would be separated by generations, with each having a new one. In this case, it is ‘Yun’, which also means cloud in a more general sense.