Chapter 83: Don't Be Afraid... Don't Be Afraid...

“Oh?”

Xu Boqing uttered a sound of surprise and suspicion, then, after a moment’s contemplation, asked, “Madam, do you know where the cultivators of this world reside? And what distinguishes one kind of cultivator from another?”

He paused, then spoke frankly, “To be honest, I’ve lived among ordinary people all my life. Though I know there are cultivators in this world, I’ve never really come into contact with them, so my curiosity is quite intense.”

Zhu Sisi raised her brows and asked, “Didn’t you say you’d met a cultivator from the Celestial Master Sect before?”

Xu Boqing’s expression stiffened, and he chuckled awkwardly. “I did see an old Daoist in Hongyang City who was skilled in thunder magic, but we only crossed paths for a moment and didn’t speak at length.”

Finally, he added with genuine feeling, “To meet you is already a blessing. I wonder if you could enlighten me, so that I might know just how great the gulf is between us mortals and someone such as yourself.”

Zhu Sisi’s hand paused slightly as she raised her cup, and she snorted coldly. “How should I, a demon cultivator, know about the ways of human cultivators?”

Xu Boqing sighed desolately, tipped back his head, and drank deeply, murmuring to himself, “A mortal’s body, a lifespan of less than a hundred years, yearning for the path to immortality without any way to pursue it…”

Seeing the regret and melancholy in his face, Zhu Sisi hesitated, torn by some hidden thought, before she finally said quietly, “Cultivators dwell in this world, yet they do not belong to it.”

“In this world, yet not of it…” Xu Boqing repeated, frowning in contemplation, then asked, “Madam, do you mean to say that all these cultivators reside in hidden paradises, beyond the reach of common folk?”

“That’s more or less correct. Without a stroke of destiny, a mortal could search forever and never find a trace…” Zhu Sisi nodded slightly, explaining, “Most cultivators inherit a tradition. For instance, the Celestial Master Sect specializes in thunder arts, and their temple is on Mount Xiangji. Even demon cultivators like me know of it. But the world is vast—who can say where Mount Xiangji is?”

Xu Boqing nodded thoughtfully. “Are there many sects like the Celestial Master Sect?”

“With a true immortal presiding? Not many.” Zhu Sisi paused, then went on, “I’ve only cultivated for just over three hundred years myself, and there’s a great difference between immortals and demons. My knowledge of the immortal path is quite limited. As far as I know, there’s only one other place with a true immortal in residence, and that’s Jade Sword Mountain.”

“A true immortal… Celestial Master Sect… Jade Sword Mountain…” Xu Boqing seemed to recall something and quickly asked, “Madam, forgive my boldness, but do these sects ever come down to the mortal world to recruit disciples?”

“Recruit disciples?” Zhu Sisi shot him an odd look, shook her head, and said, “There’s not only a divide between demon and human in the cultivation world, but also between the immortal and the mundane. Most cultivators see the dust and clamor of the mortal world as a deadly poison… Even those with weak resolve are strictly forbidden by their elders from entering the mortal realm, let alone recruiting disciples from among common folk.”

“The world of men… poison…” Xu Boqing blinked, realizing that this world of cultivation was not quite like the ones he’d imagined.

He was about to ask what would happen to those sects if their numbers dwindled with age, but then remembered her earlier mention of ‘destiny’—and after all, in cultivation, the older one grew, the more powerful one became…

But then another thought struck him, and he asked with a strange look, “Madam, I mean no offense, but if demons and evil spirits ran rampant in the mortal world, and cultivators did not intervene, would there be nothing to do but let them wreak havoc?”

“There are City Gods—every region has its own City God and underworld officials. They’re responsible for maintaining balance between the worlds of yin and yang…” Zhu Sisi took a sip of wine and explained, “If there were no City Gods and underworld officials—or if they existed, but could not deal with a particular demon or evil spirit—then the disturbance would be so great that cultivators would certainly be drawn out to confront it.”

“City Gods… underworld officials…” Xu Boqing’s gaze sharpened, and he probed, “Does our world have a Heavenly Court or an Underworld, then?”

Zhu Sisi regarded him oddly, then shook her head and asked, “Have you been reading too many popular novels?”

Xu Boqing’s face froze, and he nodded politely, though awkwardly. “I have read quite a few.”

Zhu Sisi shook her head and took another sip of wine. “Perhaps my vision is too narrow, but I’ve never heard of any so-called Heavenly Court or Underworld as you describe.”

For some reason, when Xu Boqing heard her answer, a sense of nameless dread seized his heart, as if something were clutching it tight, sending a pang of agony straight to his soul…

He looked up, struck by a sudden realization…

His Celestial Eye seemed to carry his spirit straight through the roof of the Siqing Pavilion and into the stars!

In that boundless firmament…

He seemed to hear the cries and furious roars of unyielding spirits; he seemed to witness the collapse of celestial palaces, chaos and ruin; and he sensed the presence of a cage that sealed both heaven and earth…

Within the vastness of those stars…

It felt as if too many secrets were hidden there!

He stared up at the sky, dazed, as if his Celestial Eye had glimpsed something forbidden. His eyes stung fiercely, and before he knew it, a single tear of blood traced its way down his cheek.

In that instant, it was as if he understood everything, and yet understood nothing at all…

His gaze grew vague, as though he were utterly lost in the endless night sky, and even the aura around his body began to fade and grow weak…

Zhu Sisi was puzzled when she saw him staring upward, but when she noticed the bead of blood rolling down his cheek and crystallizing as it hit the ground, she realized something was amiss.

Setting down her wine bowl, she hurriedly got up, only to see that Xu the Scoundrel’s eyes had lost their focus, and his life force was ebbing away, his body wilting…

Something was wrong—terribly wrong!

“Xu the Scoundrel… wake up! Wake up!”

Zhu Sisi’s expression changed. She rushed over and shook him, only to find, to her shock, that his body was icy cold, no longer like that of a living man.

“M-Madam…”

It was as if Xu Boqing’s spirit had returned. His eyes regained their luster, but when he tried to move, he found that the furnace inside him had gone cold, his entire being numb with a deathly chill…

His face was pale as paper, his lips drained of color. He rubbed his hands together, breathing on them for warmth, but even his breath came out cold…

When he finally saw who was before him, he gritted his teeth, sat up, and hugged her for warmth, mumbling in explanation, “Madam… forgive me… but I… I’m just… so cold…”

“You…”

Zhu Sisi instinctively tried to push him away, but when she felt his shivering, her hands froze in place…

In all her three hundred years of cultivation, she had never seen anything like this—one moment drinking, the next suddenly in such a state. She was utterly taken aback…

“Madam… I’m… feeling much better now…”

Xu Boqing took a deep breath, and the furnace inside him seemed to reignite, his body slowly warming.

Zhu Sisi stood there, bewildered, not knowing where to put her hands…

She could clearly sense that the scoundrel clinging to her for warmth was no longer trembling as before, and his body temperature was gradually returning to normal…

She seemed to think of something, and a mysterious smile flickered across her face. She reached out to embrace him, gently patting his back in comfort. “Don’t be afraid… don’t be afraid…”

Xu Boqing froze, his face stiffening as he realized the situation he was in, his toes curling so hard he wished he could burrow through the soles of his shoes…