Soaring

the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 1: Boundless Secular World (1)

“Stop running! You, Miao brat, you can’t run from me! I, your father, demand that you
stop this instant!”
Three young men, each carrying long blades, ran in the same direction along the dark and
strange trail that lay between the mountains. Every so often, they waved their blades
threateningly at the man running just ahead of them, signaling him to stop.
Their threats were useless, since the man wouldn’t even halt in his tracks. In fact, he
started to quicken his pace, moving faster than before.
The young man, wielding a butcher’s knife, ignored their calls as he ran. While sprinting,
he looked back and loudly yelled, “Mad dogs! Can’t you see what kind of place this is?
You’re all f*cking nuts!”
It would be crazy if he stopped. His life would be in jeopardy. A snapping sound could be
heard from the places he trod on as he ran as fast as his legs could carry him, black
patches of grass turning to flying dust in his wake.
All around him, the grass, the trees and all the plants were colored black.
They weren’t purposely dyed black, nor was it a naturally organic color. They were all
carbonized, which had caused them to turn black. Nobody knew what their original state
looked like a hundred thousand years ago, and neither would anyone know what would
become of them a hundred thousand years later. In this place, it was as if time had stopped
completely. The plants, akin to blackened, life-like statues, were shrouded and concealed
within a white mist.
This place, similar to the netherworld, was known as the Boundless Secular World.
Legend has it that a hundred thousand years ago, a hundred thousand celestial troops and
generals travelled far across the Heavens, giving chase to the Great Devil, with the sole
intent to kill. In the midst of their pursuit, they eventually arrived at this location.
Unfortunately, the Great Devil was too strong, leaving the celestial troops and generals no
choice but to finally lay out the Ultimate Deathly Strike Formation. With this last move,
they altogether perished, taking the Great Devil with them.
For the better part of a hundred thousand years, the white mist took on a perpetually
treacherous and frightening shade of blood-red. This blood mist appeared menacing,
seeming to devour everything in its path. Human, spirits and gods alike didn’t dare to
trespass this place,and so the mist prevented any living creature from going further.
 But once every thousand years, the Ultimate Deathly Strike Formation would leave one
side of its vaporous net open. When the blood mist turned back to being white in color,
mortals were able to go in for a glimpse of whatever mystery was occurring within.
However, demons and devils and all other non-human living beings were not able to enter
arbitrarily, or else they would dissolve into a pool of black water just from touching the
strange dense mist. Not even the strongest cultivator could withstand the erosion of the
mist. Overall, it was extremely strange and no one could figure out the reason for this
phenomenon.
However, these were the burial grounds of the Immortal Devil. It was obvious that the
treasured items guarded by the Immortal Devil were also buried in the same spot. This
piece of news attracted a large number of cultivators to lust after them. Not only that, the
area was abundantly rich in an immortal herb called the Glorious Star, a divine healing
medicine revered as a priceless treasure by many cultivators.
Every one thousand years, cultivators began to grow restless whenever the time arrived for
the Boundless Secular World to open its ‘gates’ once more. Since they weren’t able to
enter, the cultivators resorted to luring in mortals with promises of riches in exchange for
their help in obtaining the items they sought. It didn’t matter who it was, so long as they
could find the Immortal Devil’s treasures or the Glorious Star immortal herb, they would
be accepted unconditionally into their School of Immortals.
But a certain kind of monster dwelled here. Legend has it that the monster guarded the
Immortal Devil’s tomb. It was bloodthirsty in nature and killed as if the lives of others
were trifling matters.
Nobody would dare risk their own lives to come here unless they were either desperate or
were fugitives, since ascending to immortality would require at least a life to enjoy!
Miao Yi wasn’t a desperate man, nor was he a fugitive. He was only seventeen years of
age, and wasn’t considered as too young or too old. It was viewed as a normal sight for the
locals to get married and have children at his age.
He had his eyes set on the Li Family’s beautiful daughter, who owned a tofu store right in
front of his butcher stall. And so he sent a matchmaker over to propose. Once Old Li, the
tofu store’s owner, understood what was going on, he instantly threw the matchmaker out
of his house. The two families lived close by, just across the street, so why wouldn’t they
know each other? A butcher kid with no money and status, with two young burdens to
raise, would dare to even dream of marrying his daughter?
Even if the matchmaker’s words were persuasive enough to raise the dead, it was all futile.
Old Li’s wife yelled angrily for quite some time out in the streets, her words impossible to
avoid as she flung insults along the lines of a toad wishing to eat swan meat.
He would have been better off not proposing. Afterwards, Old Li was constantly wary
around Miao Yi, guarding against him as if he were a thief. Since then, he never once
allowed his daughter, who had grown up with Miao Yi ever since infancy, to meet with
him again, fearing that Miao Yi would abduct her without warning. The two families had
completely cut off ties with each other. Indeed, neighbors always were this quick to turn
against each other.
Honestly, Miao Yi didn’t even like Old Li’s daughter all that much. His family’s financial
condition didn’t exactly put him in the mood to be concerned with love affairs. He was
only complying to society’s local customs. So it wouldn’t be a big deal if the marriage
didn’t end up happening. However, after this whole matter, he came to understand a
certain truth.
His foster parents had treated Miao Yi with kindness. Before they passed away, they left
behind a son and daughter under his care. Miao Yi didn’t want his siblings to wind up with
the same fate as him. And as luck would have it, the Boundless Secular World had lifted
its seal, and so he entered its domain with the intention of securing a better future for his
siblings.
But not long after entering, who would have thought that he’d be instantly targeted by his
old enemy, Huang Cheng, accompanied by his lackeys. Upon sighting them, he had no
choice but to make his escape without doing anything, swearing as he went.
The dense mist lightly swirled through the surroundings. Those who came to take their
chances could be seen scattered amongst the thick fog, all turning their heads to stare in
shock at the four people giving chase. None of them expected such young fellows, not yet
fully grown, would dare to make such a scene in this dangerous place.
“That brat’s zodiac must be a dog! He can really run! Boss, I can’t keep up any longer.
Let’s rest!”
Zhao Xingwu, second of the Zhao brothers, panted to catch his breath.
His older brother, Zhao Xingkui, also shouted at Huang Cheng, “That’s right, Boss, let’s
rest.”
Huang Cheng, too, couldn’t keep running. He gasped for air as he placed his hand on a
large boulder to support himself, with the Zhao brothers resting to the side.
Miao Yi was dead tired. Seeing that nobody was chasing him anymore, he also braced
himself onto a large boulder and turned to sit down, his mouth wide-open as he breathed
heavily. He pointed at the three men and shook his head. “Huang Cheng, are you insane?
Take a look at where you are before you go around stirring up trouble. Do you really want
to die that badly?”
Huang Cheng tapped his long blade against the boulder twice before directing it towards
Miao Yi. “You should blame it on yourself, trying to rise above your station. You’re
merely a pig butcher and yet you dream to ascend to immortality? You even dare to aspire
above my Huang Clan? I, your father, have come here today to eliminate all future
nuisances!”
His father was the widely-known Huang, the Head Guard serving under the City Lord of
Changfeng City. Miao Yi’s home was situated in an area that fell under his jurisdiction.
From a young age, both Miao Yi and himself had never seen eye to eye, with Miao Yi
always gaining the upper hand. But as it was only a child’s quarrel, it wouldn’t look good
if his father abused his authority to intimidate Miao Yi, otherwise the entire neighborhood
would drown you in their spit.
He was immediately shocked to find out Miao Yi wanted to take his chances in the
Boundless Secular World. With his family background, even he was unable to suppress
Miao Yi. So if Miao Yi were to become an Immortal, wouldn’t that make his current
situation even more terrible?
Even if he ended up beaten to death, he couldn’t allow Miao Yi to surpass him. And so he
gathered two of his lackeys, with murder on his mind!
Miao Yi kept glancing at the gleaming blades held in their hands, heaving heavily as he
asked, “You seriously intend to kill me?”
The three men gave menacing smiles. Huang Cheng looked around and spoke with a
cynical air, “This isn’t the city, so it’s not unusual for people to die out here. Who would
be able to figure out the culprit?”
Miao Yi was shocked. As kids, they had gotten into harmless fights, but the most they had
done was badly bruise each other. It had never escalated to the point of murder. After all,
their city’s laws weren’t for decorational purposes.
“You’re f*cking mad! Since you braved all this way to kill me, why do you even need to
be scared that I’ll become immortal?” Miao Yi exclaimed in disbelief as he pointed at their
surroundings.
The clear meaning of his words was simple to understand; since they had dared to venture
into this place, they had the opportunity to find its treasures. They could present the
treasures to the Immortal for themselves to have a chance to become one as well. Why did
they need to be threatened by the thought of him doing so?
“Che!” Huang Cheng grunted in disdain as he took in his surroundings, looking resolute.
In spite of his arrogance and ignorance of the area, he had wanted to do this. The
handmaiden his father had gifted to the Immortal had gotten hold of some insider
information, severely warning him not to meddle in Miao Yi’s affairs. As to what she
meant by ‘affairs’, she would not reveal a single word.
It was because of this big sister’s role, staying by the Immortal’s side as a handmaiden,
which had helped his father secure the position as Head Guard.
“Be good! Stop fooling around, hurry up and go home.” Miao Yi waved his hand at them,
carrying his butcher knife as he stood up, turned and left.
Huang Cheng was stunned, but in a flash became furious. That brat was treating him like a
kid! He waved his blade and shouted, “Stop right there!”
“Catch me if you can. You’re well aware of how dangerous it is inside, so come if you
don’t fear death.”
Having said that, Miao Yi strode down his own path, too lazy to bother himself with them
anymore.
Huang Cheng looked around him and realized they had already journeyed too deep inside.
It would be dangerous if they ventured further in.
Their initial plan was to trail Miao Yi from behind and into this area, with the intention of
ambushing him. But the grass in this awful place was all carbonized. A snapping sound
was heard as they walked, so they were found out by Miao Yi before they could even get
close to him. As a result, they had made it this far by accident.
“Great, run then, Miao brat. If you have the guts, run as far as you can. A monk may run
but the temple always remains. Anyway, you still have two little kids back home. Dealing
with them later on would be the same as dealing with you.”
Huang Cheng didn’t dare to head in any further, so he acted like a ruffian, behaving
shamelessly while throwing threats at Miao Yi.
After saying that, Miao stopped dead in his tracks and slowly turned his body around. The
man was right in his words; it reminded him that if by chance he couldn’t return, these
bastards would definitely bully the heck out of his younger siblings.
Seeing that the threat was effective, Zhao Xingkui, with a perverted expression, made the
situation even worse as he said, “That little sister of his is a beautiful girl with fair and
smooth skin. If you rip all her clothes off…”
“Shut up!”
Yet, Zhao Xingkui spoke even more perverted words, even adding some lewd actions.
Miao Yi was enraged and pointed his knife towards the three, as he gnashed his teeth and
said, “You are all courting death!”
Huang Cheng waved at Miao Yi in a playful manner and said, “If you have the guts, don’t
run. Come to us! I’ll wait for you right here. Indeed, I am here to court death. Come!
Come kill me!”
Miao Yi stifled his anger and stared at the three with an expressionless face. He did not
charge forward to fight desperately. Instead, he tightly closed his mouth.
Normally, he would fight them. Since he had butchered pigs from a young age, he had the
strength. Things like fighting against three people at the same time wouldn’t be anything
new. However, this time, all three of them had blades in their hands, while he himself was
not exactly invincible against blades and spears. If he was stabbed, that wouldn’t be a
joke. Giving his life to three bastards was not worth it.
Seeing no reaction from him, the three men whistled and cheered, all the while insulting
Miao Yi as a good-for-nothing, a spineless coward for thinking he could scare them.
However, Miao Yi turned his eyes to the other adventurers that were approaching. Among
the adventurers, there was a big, sturdy man with a long saber in his hand, revealing a
fierce pair of eyes, akin to those of a hawk or a wolf. One glance, and one would know
that this man was not a virtuous crop.
Miao Yi’s lips curled, as he coldly laughed. When they neared him, he suddenly waved his
blade and shouted, “Hand over the immortal herb!”
Huang Cheng and the other two froze for a second, thinking that Miao Yi had gone mad.
Immediately, they noticed something was wrong. They realized that those people passing
by them had also stopped, and were staring at them with indecipherable expressions.Those
strange eyes sent a chill down the three men’s hearts.
Seeing that the three were just young, inexperienced fellows, someone moved a step
forward in approach. He did not care whether it was real or fake, he intended to make sure
of it for himself.
“Don’t listen to his gibberish. We don’t have the immortal herb. We are just here to get
even with him. We are not even here to gather the immortal herb,” Huang Cheng hastily
explained.
However, these words had to be more credible. Coming to this place, one where you could
lose your life, just to get even with somebody… What a joke! Did these kids think that
they were all idiots?
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 2: Boundless Secular World (2)

To make matters worse, his explanation sounded like he was trying to cover up the truth.
This made them seem even more conspicuous, further raising suspicions about a possible
secret motive behind the three men’s intentions.
“Hand it over!” Miao Yi angrily snapped once more. Without warning, he lifted his
butcher knife and immediately rushed out towards the three men.
He had only dealt with killing pigs before and had never killed a man, but now he was
overcome with a strong urge to murder these three people.
Because of Huang Cheng’s reminder, he knew that the moment he allowed them to leave,
his brother and sister would be in danger if he didn’t manage to return home from the
ordeal. These three sons of b*tches dared to commit murder, what else wouldn’t they do?
Today, he must rid the world of these three future menaces.
The three men panicked, turned on their heels and ran away. However, it was out of their
expectations that the commotion would cause many spectators to step in, thus blocking
their path of escape.
Their situation was extremely unfortunate. Not only were they chased by a Miao Yi with
murderous intentions, around seven to eight people had decided to join the chase as well.
Eventually, they were surrounded by the crowd in its pursuit to intercept them.
Unable to escape using the path they had originally entered from, the trio immediately
rushed out without caution. Panicking, they fled in a state of disarray while repeatedly
screaming, “We don’t have the immortal herb!”
Raising his knife while in hot pursuit, Miao Yi’s face remained stone cold, a crowd of
people following directly behind him.
It wasn’t long before the entire group ran astray from the safe path, without even realizing
what had happened.
Before arriving here, everyone collected a free map of the area from the Ancient City.
Plotted on the map were markers indicating all the safe paths, a result from the amount of
deaths that occurred during the last time the Boundless Secular World had opened.
In the end, Huang Cheng and his lackeys were eventually stopped by the group of strong
men.
“What do you all want?” Terrified, Huang Cheng could only sputter. He raised his blade
and started hacking away madly, not wanting to let the men move closer to him.
The big, sturdy man was obviously well-trained; he approached Huang Cheng in a flash,
moving sideways to avoid the hacking blade. He captured Huang Cheng’s wrist in a one-
handed grip and twisted it on the spot, causing him to cry out in pain, and dropping the
blade held in his hand to the ground with a loud clang.
The Zhao brothers were also extremely anxious. With daggers, they threatened the others
not to come near them. When it came down to it, maybe they had the capability to bully
those of the same age, like Miao Yi, or anyone younger. But running into these strong,
young men made them feel as if they were dealing with adults instead, and so
subconsciously they became a little timid.
The big, sturdy man didn’t bother with Huang Cheng’s explanations and was already
searching his body with his hands. In the end, he couldn’t find any trace of the immortal
herb on him.
He glanced at the Zhao brothers and then turned his head to look at the quickly
approaching Miao Yi. He pushed Huang Cheng away and was preparing to search the
Zhao brothers when suddenly,the unexpected happened. Who would have expected Miao
Yi to rush out at that moment, swinging his butcher knife and stabbing it straight into the
stumbling Huang Cheng’s chest.
Huang Cheng’s eyes widened as he stared at Miao Yi in disbelief and shock. The big,
sturdy man, the Zhao brothers and all the others were also appalled by Miao Yi’s actions.
Puff！The fierce-looking Miao Yi hardened his heart, pulling out the knife only to thrust it
back in again. He then stabbed Huang Cheng’s body twice more, before raising his hand to
hack at his neck with the knife.
Fresh blood splashed out onto Miao Yi’s body. Huang Cheng covered his neck with his
hands, twitching as he fell to the ground, unable to mask the terror and alarm in his eyes.
Miao Yi couldn’t have cared less, baring his teeth despite feeling terrified inside. Yet he
still gripped the blood-stained knife, rushing once more towards the Zhao brothers.
The two brothers were so frightened by this, that they decided to throw all caution to the
wind, frantically waving their long blades to fight their way out of their entrapment.
Taking advantage of them being caught off-guard, Miao Yi quickly approached and
plunged his knife into the back of Zhao Xingkui’s waist. Removing the knife, he stabbed
him a few more times, letting Zhao Xingkui fall onto a pool of his own blood.
The vicious appearance of Miao Yi stunned the others, as they never expected this young
man to be this ruthless.
While everyone was distracted, they accidentally let Zhao Xingwu, who was frantically
swinging his blade in a desperate fight for his life, escape the circle.
The group of people watched on emotionlessly as Miao Yi once again, raised his knife,
chasing after Zhao Xingwu.
“Nice going, kid! How incredibly ruthless. Such a young age and already killing without
blinking an eye!” The big, sturdy man chuckled. The gang of people had also quickly run
after them.
Glancing behind him, Zhao Xingwu was seized by terror when he saw Miao Yi viciously
hot on his trail, looking fiendish and completely drenched in blood. It seemed that Miao Yi
had no intention of letting him escape, which frightened him to the point that he madly ran
for his life, crying as he screamed.
It was unclear whether his scream had alarmed something or it was because they had
barged into the dangerous zone, but from mid-air a swooshing sound could be heard, as if
something was flying towards their location.
Swish! An enormous black figure descended from the sky, landing in the middle of the
few people pursuing each other all around.
The black figure made no large movements as it landed. It nearly collided with Miao Yi,
who was in the middle of running, causing him to stumble to the ground and roll over
several times.
The seven or eight people who managed to catch up came to an immediate halt, their faces
terrified as they slowly raised their head to look. It was unknown as to what they saw, but
it made them gradually back away.
As Miao Yi stood up and raised his head, he was shocked as well. A mantis?
He took another glance before confirming his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him. It really
was a mantis, and a huge one at that.
The length of the body exceeded two zhang, its entire form a shiny black color, with sharp
barbs growing on its four feet. Its forelimbs carried what looked like a pair of sickles, akin
to a scythe-wielding grim reaper. It exuded the terrifyingly cold atmosphere of the
underworld, and was constantly twisting its large head around, the indistinct green eyes
flickering as if it were closely studying its prey.
This creature was the monster described on the map, known as the Hell Mantis. No one
expected they would actually get to see the real deal.
A cold sweat broke out on Miao Yi’s forehead, and his legs turned to jelly. He was
standing to the right side of the Hell Mantis, not daring to be rash in his movements.
The big, sturdy man and the others also broke into a cold sweat, since they were directly at
the forefront, facing the Hell Mantis itself. They didn’t dare make any large movements,
as they continued to slowly back away from it.
Suddenly, the two ‘sickles’ of the Hell Mantis scratched against each other in a demonic
manner, popping out and withdrawing back again.
No one clearly saw what it did, but suddenly, the two men standing beside the big, sturdy
man disappeared from sight, only to find them hanging with their chests impaled. They
were hooked onto the Hell Mantis’s sickles, fresh blood trickling down their bodies as
they screamed in pain and agony.
“We’re dead no matter which way we go…” the big, sturdy man warned the others,
immediately shouting, “Everyone, split up and run!”
The panic-stricken men immediately turned their heads and ran off in different directions.

But the man who told everyone to disperse and run away, stayed behind by himself instead
of escaping with the others.
The Hell Mantis’s eyes blinked as it chewed, feasting the head that it held with its sickles.
Suddenly, it flapped its wings and hovered above the ground, causing a gust of wind to
appear, floating sand and stones into mid-air. Its mouth still chewed onto its ‘food’ as it
flew, chasing towards the running men.
Miao Yi, who at this point was already scared out of his wits, turned to look back and
vaguely saw the Hell Mantis playing a game of cat and mouse. It hovered from one side to
another, above the people who were in the midst of escaping, still chewing on the food it
caught with its sickles.It gave people the impression that it was eating from its bowl, while
keeping an eye on the pot, as if it wanted second helpings after finishing its portion. Shrill
screams could be constantly heard from afar.
When the scene of cat and mouse disappeared from his sight, Miao Yi let out a sigh of
relief. He reckoned if it weren’t for those people escaping and subsequently attracting the
monster’s attention, he would not have been able to avoid a similar fate.
“I’m saved.” The big, sturdy man patted his chest, feeling relieved. Noticing Miao Yi
hadn’t moved yet, he felt it was strange. He concluded that this kid was quite smart and
had actually seen through his scheme.
However, he did not realize that Miao Yi couldn’t even run because his legs had given out
from terror.
“Kid, we have strayed away from the safe zone. It’s not wise to stay here for a long period
of time. Hurry and leave!”
The big, sturdy man warned him solely out of goodwill, then turned and ran off.
After watching the man disappear into the dense mist, Miao Yi calmed his shocked state
of mind, proceeding to head back to look for Zhao Xingwu, only to discover that he had
no idea where that guy had even gone to, due to the Hell Mantis’ previous interruption. It
was extremely foggy all around, so even if he wanted to find Zhao Xingwu, he was unable
to do so anymore.
He slightly admired Zhao Xingwu. He himself was too scared of the Hell Mantis to move,
and that guy had dared to run away.
But a depressing thought quickly formed in his mind; since Zhao Xingwu had only cared
about escaping, he might not even have noticed the appearance of the Hell Mantis behind
him…
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 3: Boundless Secular World (3)

No longer dwelling on the thoughts plaguing his mind, he knew he’d already run astray
from the safe path. It really wouldn’t be wise for him to stay in the area a moment longer.
After Miao Yi studied his surroundings, he carefully backtracked to the safe zone, all the
while eyeing the vicinity to see if there were any immortal herbs in sight.
There was no way he’d continue venturing into the danger zone to find Zhao Xingwu. He
wasn’t even sure whether Zhao Xingwu would be able to leave the place alive.
By the time he quietly, and with difficulty, found his way back to the safe zone, the sky
had already started to turn dark.
It was too dangerous for him to wander around in this place at night. He couldn’t even see
the road clearly, let alone keep watch for another appearance of that unpredictable
monster, which ended up vanishing as quickly as it came.
The most important thing to consider was that he’d run a long way, so he was dreadfully
exhausted, which left him with no choice but to search for a place to rest. Looking all
around him, he felt his way through the darkness into the forest of stones located at the
foot of the mountain.
After barging through the stones, he discovered a small cave hidden amongst them. His
heart was relieved. It was the best place to spend the night, since it was sheltered on the
outside by the surrounding forest of stones.
But what he didn’t expect was that after twisting his body in a cat-like manner to enter the
cave, abruptly, a large hand immediately came out of nowhere and started strangling his
neck. To save himself, Miao Yi instinctively stabbed out with his butcher knife, but the
other person’s own reaction was extraordinary, quickly disrupting Miao Yi’s attack by
locking down his wrist.
The two men finally stood facing each other in the cave. When Miao Yi saw the other
man’s face clearly, his eyes flickered to signal the other person to let him go.
The other person was in fact, the big, sturdy man from before. Never would he have
expected the man to hide away in this place too.
“It’s you?” The man was stunned, creasing his eyebrows as he slowly let go of Miao Yi.
At the same time, he seized the butcher knife from Miao Yi’s hand with his own.
Apparently, he still didn’t feel at ease with Miao Yi. This was because the sight of Miao
Yi’s earlier show of cruelty still freshly lingered in his mind. He was worried Miao Yi
would stab him in the back.
“Cough, cough!” Flushing a shade of bright red, Miao Yi clutched his neck and coughed
twice.
The man swiftly covered Miao Yi’s mouth, lowered his own voice and snapped, “Shut up!
Is the monster still out there?”
As it turned out, he was hiding here because he had run into the monster again.
Miao Yi waved his hand and waited for the other man to loosen his grip. He gasped for air,
shaking his head as he said, “I didn’t see the monster when I was on my way here.”
The man poked his head out of the cave and surveyed the area. After a while, he pulled his
head back to stare at Miao Yi, frowning as he said, “Kid, such a young age and already so
ruthless. Looking back, I still feel something’s not right no matter how I think about it.
You didn’t look like you were stealing anything at all. Instead, you looked more like you
wanted so badly to dispose of them, just to have peace of mind. Kid, tell me honestly. Did
those three people really have the immortal herb on them?”
Miao Yi stared at the butcher knife that had fallen into the other man’s hands. After
thinking about it, he decided not to hide the truth. Thus, he roughly explained the
situation, but with reservations.
“Those three were really goddamn fools! I say kid, young as you are, you’re not dumb at
all when it comes to cheating people. I say… Bah! I’m not that bright either, I was also
used in your ploy, and I even almost lost my life.” The big, sturdy man laughed at himself
in self-mockery.
He looked back, glancing at the bag hung over Miao Yi’s body and asked, “I was too
absorbed in running for my life, so I lost all the food and drinks I brought along with me.
Kid, you don’t mind sharing a portion with me, right?”
Without another word, Miao Yi unpacked his bag, taking out the rations and water to give
to the man and said, “Uncle, how about we take turns resting and guarding tonight? In this
awful place, it’s not safe for a person to fall into a deep sleep.”
He could tell that the man was skilled in martial arts. Right from the beginning, Miao Yi
wouldn’t have been a worthy opponent for him in a fight. He was also slightly worried
that the man harbored ill intentions towards him, so he decided to let the other man
understand that he still had some use for him.
The big, sturdy man threw him a meaningful look, curling his lips into a playful, knowing
smile. Without another word, he accepted the food and ate while glancing outside the
cave, as he mumbled, “I reckon the sky outside is not that dark yet. The fog is quite bad
here, so it gets dark earlier.”
Just like that, as both of them ate, they fell into conversation, engaging in small talk.
Apparently the big, sturdy man’s name was Yan Beihong, he was originally a Military
Commander of a city with a population of one million people. He got into trouble because
he stole the City Lord’s concubine, implicating his entire family in the end. So in a fit of
rage, he killed the City Lord and ran away.
He’d had it rough, living through the days of being hunted everywhere on a regular basis.
In a state of desperation, he decided it was a safer bet to simply barge into the Boundless
Secular World.
Yan Beihong also felt it strange that a young kid like Miao Yi would come all the way
here to court death. It was important to be forthright when cooperating with others, so
Miao Yi did not conceal the truth from him.
As promised earlier on, they both took turns between resting and keeping watch during the
night.
They cooperated with each other pleasantly throughout the night, with Miao Yi thinking
back on how easily his words had caused a group of people to ransack each other. He
understood very well that he would be in trouble too, should he manage to pick the
immortal herb for himself. So on the very next day, he took the initiative, and requested to
form an alliance with Yan Beihong.
Yan Beihong neither agreed nor rejected his request. Once the sun had risen, he threw the
butcher knife back to Miao Yi, and they went off on the road together.
After the encounter with the Hell Mantis, they learned from their past mistakes and didn’t
dare act rashly by running off the safe path. They wouldn’t be able to narrowly escape
every time. Thus, they decided to move along the safe path on the map.
But what they saw along the way revealed that the so-called safe path didn’t appear to be
safe at all. Human body remains, consisting of broken legs and limbs, could be seen all
along the path.
Judging from the bloody corpses that showed traces of being chewed on or were sliced
open, it was obvious that many had encountered and suffered the wrath of the Hell
Mantis’s ambush.
Before their own eyes, a herd of Hell Mantises casually crawled past, and they practically
shrank back behind a boulder in absolute terror.
They gradually discovered that although the Hell Mantis was a bloodthirsty killer, it would
not totally annihilate its victims, and would still give them a path to survival. It was as
though the more spineless and cowardly a person was, the more likely the Hell Mantis
would not withhold its mercy.
As they went further in, they were apprehensive to find the aftermath from landslides and
the diversion in course of a river. The destruction seen on the ground was in a state of such
disastrous proportions it could not have been caused by a human being. It was hard to
imagine the events that had transpired. Unless, the Great War of Immortals and Devil had
really happened here?
The next dreadful encounter made Miao Yi felt lucky that he and Yan Beihong had teamed
up together.
Although the immortal herb, Glorious Star, was only grown natively in the Boundless
Secular World, you couldn’t exactly find it growing everywhere. For a few days, they
travelled further around the Boundless Secular World, and still they could not see a
shadow’s trace of even one immortal herb.
The most scariest part was that after narrowly escaping the Hell Mantis’s ambush, they
encountered another threat, this time from their own kind.
While fleeing for his life, Yan Beihong had lost the food he had carried on him. Miao Yi,
himself, only brought ten days worth of rations, since nobody in their right mind would
come in carrying around one month’s worth, so he could still survive for another ten days
if he kept the rations for himself. When shared between the two of them, the rest of the
food wouldn’t even last five days.
The problem of a shortage of food was obviously apparent to others as well. The two of
them found themselves surrounded by a group of five who ordered them to hand over the
pathetic amount of rations that they had left.
Yan Beihong showed no signs of fear as he laughed coldly. He immediately unsheathed
his broadsword and charged upfront.
It was no wonder that he was once a Military Commander of a city populated by millions
of people. He was skilled and valiant, and nearly every strike of his blade was
accompanied with blood. He forcefully took on all five by himself, beheading the entire
group.
Wiping off the blood stains from his broadsword, Yan Beihong packed up whatever
rations he could harvest from the five bodies, throwing them at Miao Yi for him to carry
on his back. And so, they had two additional days of food.
But the next day, Yan Beihong met someone even more skilled than him.
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 4: Boundless Secular World (4)

At the foot of a mountain, the sounds of clashing blades and swords echoed sharply
through the air. As Yan Beihong walked nearer, he quickly pulled Miao Yi along and
crouched behind a large boulder. They could see more than ten people fighting with great
intensity at the mountain’s base. Loud piercing screams continuously resounded as they
fought.
A plant, with red stone branches and gem leaves, blossomed at the slope of the steep
mountain, emitting a gentle radiance. It was obvious to see why they were fighting each
other to this extent.
Immortal herb? Miao Yi’s eyes brightened as he stared at the gentle light glowing at the
side of the steep slope. He was about to stretch out his finger to remind Yan Beihong, but
the man silenced him, swiftly covering his mouth with his hand, signalling Miao Yi to stay
quiet.
Yan Beihong took a quick glance at the immortal herb, before focusing his attention to the
crowd slaughtering each other. His hand tightened on the shaft of his blade, as he silently
waited for the time to strike.
Amidst the massacre was a skilled expert, who single-handedly cut down a series of ten
people, all while jumping and dodging their attacks. At the end, he lifted his sword and
surveyed his surroundings one more time. After ensuring there were no more opponents,
he made his way towards the immortal herb growing on the steep slope.
Right at the moment he let his guard down, Yan Beihong rushed out from his hiding spot.
With his blade drawn, he leapt through the air, slashing furiously with his sword.
The person’s reaction was fast, he turned around and raised his sword to parry the blows
with a “clang”, and immediately engaged Yan Beihong in a vicious melee.
Instantly, the light and shadow of the sword and blade clashed until they were inseparable.
The man’s skill was obviously above Yan Beihong’s. Even after his recent fierce battle, he
still had the strength to block Yan Beihong’s heavy attacks. Furthermore, the speed of his
attacks were much faster as well。
It wasn’t long until Yan Beihong was losing the battle, and in the end the man swiftly
kicked the blade from his hands, sending it flying.
When the man’s sword came slashing down onto Yan Beihong’s neck, he frantically
gripped the man’s wrist with both hands,as he moved his thigh to capture the man’s
incoming kick. Their bodies were pressed against each other as he held onto the sword
which had already cut through the skin of his neck. Blood flowed out of the corner of his
mouth, while his eyes were filled with fury.
Both of them were locked in a stalemate, with Yan Beihong on the verge of losing ground,
when suddenly the man flung his feet out and kicked behind him.
Bang! Miao Yi, who rushed in for an attempted sneak attack, was thrown backwards.
But a butcher knife protruded from the man’s back, blood flowing out profusely from his
waist.
The man clutched at his abdomen, roughly turning his head to glare in the direction of
Miao Yi, who was struggling to get up from the ground. His face was ablaze with anger,
his eyes instantly reddening, as if he himself was a man-devouring beast.
“Die!’
With his opponent out of breath, Yan Beihong couldn’t miss this opportunity before him,
and with a mighty roar, he grabbed the wrist of his opponent’s sword-holding hand, and
elbowed him on the chest, causing him to stagger backwards.
Using this chance, Yan Beihong snatched away his opponent’s sword and leapt, and with
both hands gripping the weapon, he slashed at the man with all his might.
Puff! The expert was cut in half, from the shoulder down.
Blood splashed into the wind, the victor was decided. Yan Beihong balanced himself with
his sword while gasping for air, laughing heartily as he watched Miao Yi clutch his chest,
pain clearly showing on his face, a faint trace of blood at the corner of his mouth.
The feeling of walking out alive after a life and death situation made him laugh even more
heartily.
After ripping out part of his clothing to make a simple bandage for his wound, Yan
Beihong picked up what was left of his opponent’s food, walked up to Miao Yi, and
helped him up by grabbing him by the wrist.
After checking Miao Yi’s pulse, in a sudden move, he struck Miao Yi’s stomach with his
palm.
“Wah…” Miao Yi coughed out a mouthful of blood, but felt relieved from the earlier
grave discomfort on his chest that felt like a brewing storm of seas and rivers. His
shortness of breath was gone in an instant.
“Risking your life to save me even though we’re strangers, was it worth it?” Yan Beihong
grinned, staring at the pale-faced Miao Yi.
Miao Yi wiped away the trace of blood from his mouth and rolled his eyes at him, he had
never met someone so heartless.“You’re strong, I need you as my bodyguard,” he snapped
at Yan Beihong.
Yan Beihong pointed his sword at his fallen foe, and answered in a low voice, “He was
way better than me, wouldn’t it be a safer bet for you to help him?”
Miao Yi replied with an unreadable expression, “The fact that he was stronger was exactly
why he didn’t need my help. On the other hand, I’ve just saved your life!”
“Kid, you’re a sensible person, hahaha!” Yan Beihong looked up into the sky and let out a
maniacal laugh. He slapped Miao Yi on the back and continued, “Come on, don’t act like
a sissy, it’s just some minor internal injuries, you won’t die from it!”
With his feelings of caution towards Miao Yi completely gone, he turned back towards the
steep slope and plucked the immortal herb, and the two of them marveled at its beauty.
The immortal herb was not even half the length of a chopstick, with nine branches and a
leaf on each. Faintly glowing, it was clear and beautiful, with its gold branches and jade
leaves. The floating light particles around the immortal herb looked like dancing fireflies,
or the stars that lit up the night sky, which was probably the plant’s namesake, “Glorious
Star”.
This was the first time the both of them had come across such a treasure. It was only after
they shoved their noses closer to the herb that they detected a faint fragrance emanating
from the herb, a soothing fragrance able to slip into the depth of their hearts. It was
different from the scent of wildflowers that easily attracted butterflies and bees.
“This is good stuff! No wonder it’s known as an immortal herb.” Yan Beihong sighed, and
put it away after letting Miao Yi indulge in its fragrance for a few moments.
Miao Yi stared at him with wide eyes as he wrapped a cloth around the immortal herb, and
tucked it into his clothes.
Noticing the curious glance that Miao Yi was shooting his way, Yan Beihong, who made
the immortal herb his own without consulting his partner, coughed with an apologetic
expression and said, “Erm, this one is mine, the next one that we come across will be
yours.”
Miao Yi looked at the path they had come from and asked, “You have obtained the
immortal herb, aren’t you going back?”
“Do you think of me as someone unloyal?” asked Yan Beihong as he brazenly pushed
Miao Yi forward, “I will continue acting as your bodyguard until you get your share, and
we will go back together. But after all is said and done, do not double-cross me for my
share of the immortal herb or I will not be responsible for my actions.”
Miao Yi was left speechless. It was his misfortune that he could not best the other guy. If
their situation was reversed, he would never have the guts to claim the immortal herb as
his own without Miao Yi’s permission.
Yan Beihong did not go back on his own words. From the following day onwards, he
robbed every person that they came across, as if trying his best to help Miao Yi in his
quest to obtain an immortal herb.
Quoting Yan Beihong’s words, “Let’s ascend to immortality together!”
Up until now, almost everybody still looking for the immortal herbs were the “poor” ones;
they did not have the herb, and therefore it was fruitless to steal from them.
From the very beginning, he didn’t go back on his own words, yet Yan Beihong still broke
his promise in the end.
The duo reached the furthest corner of the safe zone marked on the map, and only God
knew what would happen beyond that point.
Yan Beihong and Miao Yi stood at the top of a hill, stopping at the edge of the safe zone,
surrounded by fine mist.
The concealed horizon was a mysterious realm. Yan Beihong mumbled under his breath,
“Brother, it’s not that I don’t want to keep my promise, but I advise you to turn back. This
place only stays open for a month, and it’s been half a month since then. We have no idea
how long it will take back down the path, and we won’t be able to return if we’re late… I
will do my best on our way back, perhaps we can still snag an immortal herb.”
Miao Yi could understand where his thoughts were leading to, Yan Beihong had already
fulfilled his loyalty by accompanying him this far, but…
“Do you not hear something?” Miao Yi exploded with a loud “Huh!”, while pointing
towards the danger zone full of the unknown. “The sound seems to be coming from that
direction.”
“Sound? What sound?” Yan Beihong was puzzled, he turned his head left and right to
catch the source of the sound, his eyebrows slowly creasing, “I don’t hear any sound!”
“You don’t?” Miao Yi was puzzled,and he once again tilted his head and listened carefully.
A flurry of “ding ding dong dong” tones flowed into his ears, like rushing water from the
mountains, the different notes sounded passionate, tender and as soft as water, together
forming a perfect rhythm. It appeared to be the sound of a person strumming a qin¹.

Footnotes:
¹Qin (琴 qín) - A Chinese musical instrument belonging to the zither family. A traditional
term of calling it.
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 5： The Scholar (1)

Miao Yi’s eyes widened as he stared deep into the mist. He pointed once more and cried
out in surprise, “There’s someone playing a qin inside!”
“Playing a qin?” Yan Beihong was speechless. Seeing that Miao Yi did not seem to be
lying, he hurriedly dug out his ears with a finger and calmed his heart, focused on
listening to the sound.
After several moments, he still didn’t hear anything, not even the sound of someone
farting much less the melody from a qin. He couldn’t help but eye Miao Yi suspiciously.
“Little Brother, aren’t you imagining things?”
But Miao Yi was sure that he wasn’t mistaken. He pointed excitedly towards the direction
in front of him and said, “Somebody is playing a qin in there, which means there’s also a
safe zone just ahead. Let’s go take a look again. Fewer people have set foot over there,
which means there’s a higher chance of finding the immortal herb.”
When he turned around, he noticed that Yan Beihong’s expression had slowly darkened.
He wasn’t sure what he’d said to trigger this reaction.
What he didn’t know was that Yan Beihong hadn’t heard a sound at all. He was a man
who clearly knew the difference between gratitude and grudges. This kind of man
wouldn’t often allow sand to enter his eyes.
He was fine with being dragged around as a bodyguard. All Miao Yi needed to do was be
blunt about it and the matter would be easily settled. But with Miao Yi’s ‘excuse’, Yan
Beihong felt that he was harboring evil intentions instead.
Yan Beihong had already experienced first-hand Miao Yi’s scheme in using another
person’s knife to kill others. And now, he had an immortal herb in his possession. If by
any chance this kid was starting to harbor evil thoughts, then in all likelihood, allowing
himself to be careless now would bring about its own setbacks.
Which was why the trust he had managed to build up with Miao Yi was immediately gone
in that instant. He put down his bag on the spot, took out some food to stuff in his arms,
and then chucked the majority of the rations along with the bag at Miao Yi’s feet.
“Since Little Brother chooses not to heed my advice, this is all I can do for now. May we
meet again in the near future!”
As soon as Yan Beihong finished, he turned and strode away without looking back.
Miao Yi couldn’t make heads or tails of his sudden change in attitude, why did he
suddenly turn against him?
He still couldn’t figure out what went wrong, even as he stared with his own eyes at Yan
Beihong’s retreating figure disappearing into the mist. He could only assume Yan Beihong
did not wish to risk his life accompanying him anymore.
Half a month already went by and yet, he still couldn’t manage to find even one immortal
herb. Should he give chase to Yan Beihong, or should he continue searching? WIth Yan
Beihong’s skills, he would probably be safer by his side on the trip back.
Miao Yi stood alone, hesitating for a long while at the top of the mountain. As he thought
about the future of his younger brother and sister, he turned his head and looked towards
the place where the qin’s melody had travelled from, whispering softly to himself, “A
place that others have dared to go, how can I be afraid to go alone?”
Looking up at the sky, he took a deep breath. He strengthened his determination, picked
up the bag and flung it over his shoulders, and then strode downhill following the
direction of the qin’s melody.
As soon as he reached the bottom of the mountain, from afar the qin’s melody went into
disarray, as if it were momentarily restless. But immediately after, it quickly went back to
normal.
After Miao Yi walked for a distance, he discovered that the area’s terrain was abnormally
even.
He continued to follow the direction where the qin’s melody came from, but even after
walking at length, it still sounded like it was just ahead, as though no one would be able to
get close to it. He began to feel suspicious as to whether he had heard wrongly and that it
was in fact, not a qin’s melody at all.
Miao Yi couldn’t help but hesitate.
In a place not far from him, where the dense mist swirled around the towering mountain
peak, there was a platform. On the platform was a stone table, where an enormous ancient
qin lay, which measured up to be about one zhang long.
The body of the old ancient qin was embossed with depictions of the sun, the moon and
the stars, along with the deep blue sea and mulberry fields.
Above the deep blue sea, rose three dragon heads, each turned back to gaze mightily at the
sun, moon and stars.
The bodies of the three dragons brazenly made up the three different colored strings
strummed onto the qin, thus making the instrument exquisitely unparalleled.
Upon moving closer, one would find that in addition to the life-like and finely sculpted
dragon heads, the strings resembled four scaley and curling dragon claws. In a moment of
carelessness, one could even mistakenly think that the strings had actually been
transformed from a dragon turned small.
It was easy to see that eight dragon strings were meant to be on the ancient qin, but for
unknown reasons this ancient qin, which rivalled the works of god, was apparently
missing five dragon strings. Only three remained.
A tall man dressed in a plain white robe, stood beside the ancient qin lying on top of the
stone table. He wore a plain, green cloak, all thin and worn-out, over his robes. The way
he was dressed was very ordinary, and if it weren’t for his hairstyle, it would be easy for
people to mistake him as a poor, but cleanly dressed, scholar.
His long, clean hair was draped over his shoulders and fell down his waist, and his plump
forehead gleamed brightly.
It was a shame that the snow-colored hair touching his temples ruined the beauty of his
long and glossy-black locks.
The silvery hair covered his temples, with each lock of hair hanging on both sides at the
front of his chest. Another lock of white hair was tucked away at the back of his head and
tied into a small knot, thus restricting the black hair so that it would be draped over his
back to prevent the strands from getting messy.
Although the face of the ‘scholar’ looked to be that of a mature, middle-aged man, he was
so handsome to the point his looks were indescribable.
His nose was well formed, with a hint of firmness between his eyes that also radiated a
hint of softness at the same time. His slanted eyes displayed a tinge of coldness in them.
His firm cheeks appeared to be as tender as the rivers and mountains, with full lips that
would make any beauty fall for him with just a kiss.
It was difficult to describe the impression he gave to others, but one glance was enough to
tell that he exuded both an air of righteousness and of sinister intent. Both co-existed
within him, along with nobility and normalcy, with both arrogance and gentleness, and
certainly without lacking a chivalrous spirit and a tender form. When he glanced back, he
would unknowingly reveal a look of scrutiny at the whole world in an imposing manner.
There was a phrase called ‘gratifying beauty’, but his form of gratifying beauty and the
way it was used to a describe a woman, were different from each other.
There existed another phrase, which was normally used to describe a woman but could
also be used on him as well; above all else, he was completely and utterly enchanting!
This was a man of unparalleled looks within his generation, a feat difficult to find in this
world!
On the misty summit, the scholar stood straight by the side of the ancient qin lying on top
of the stone table, his eyes gazing far off into the distance. With one hand placed behind
his back, the five fingers from his other hand lightly played with the three strings, as light
as a cloud or the breeze. The qin’s melody that Miao Yi had heard earlier originated from
him.
With the mountain as a center, within a twenty-li radius there was a basin. The qin’s
melody he produced was akin to those soundwaves released by a bat, so anyone who
trespassed would not be able to escape his ears.
He was unable to determine whether Miao Yi was led here by the melody, because there
was a chance that he had come here by mistake. However, he was able to sense Miao Yi’s
excessive hesitation.
He raised the hand behind his back to his chest, gently pulling free the knotted ribbon of
his cloak and untying it. Throughout this, the five fingers casually playing with the strings
did not cease their movements.
The cloak floated on its own, drifting away from his shoulders into the dense mist.
Miao Yi, who had stopped in hesitation, became startled when he noticed that the qin’s
melody seemed to have moved and changed to a different direction.
What was going on here? Miao Yi scratched his head, a little perturbed as he looked
around his surroundings. Finally, he decided to put on a bold front, forcing himself to once
again move in the direction the qin’s melody was coming from.
The mountaintop scholar’s downcast eyes flickered for a moment, as he slowly tilted his
head to face towards Miao Yi’s direction.
Confirming that Miao Yi’s disturbed state was influenced by the qin’s melody, he
appeared calm on the surface yet his emotions were seemingly affected as his hand played
faster for a few minutes, the melody starting to sound a bit hurried.
The qin’s melody kept changing directions, as though someone was literally running
around with the qin. Miao Yi, attracted by the sound, quickly hastened his pace, with a
strong urge to find out exactly who had the leisurely mood to play a qin at a place like this.
There was a chance that he himself had not noticed that the qin’s melody had led him off
the Z-shaped route.
And right along the exterior of the Z-shaped route: a large number of black mantises, each
of large and frightening physiques, as if they were wearing armor. All were armed with
sickles and barbed limbs, their feelers and horns coming into contact with each other.
Some of them were mating, while some chewed and preyed upon bloody corpses with
their frighteningly razor-sharp teeth.
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 6: The Scholar (2)

This basin appeared to be the Hell Mantises‘ old nest. Pretty much a swarm of Hell
Mantises of all sizes, both big and small, were all over the place. Yet somehow the sound
of the qin carried Miao Yi right past them, narrowly avoiding their group entirely.
Obviously, if Miao Yi hadn’t come here due to the sound of the qin, and instead had come
here by mistake, he would have been eaten by the Hell Mantises, until not even his bones
were spared.
When the qin’s melody stopped, he had arrived at the side of the lake shrouded by cold
mist, a mountain situated by its banks. The waters of the lake were calm. The qin’s melody
had stopped abruptly.
The melody of the qin had indeed come to an end, because the ‘scholar’ had stopped
playing. He stood at the edge of the cliff, the plain green cloak returned to his shoulders
once more.
Miao Yi didn’t notice him, but the scholar had already caught sight of the puzzled Miao Yi
who carefully peered about at the foot of the mountain.
The scholar clasped his hands behind his back, as he stared with downcast eyes at Miao
Yi. He opened his mouth and calmly uttered, “The unblessed will not have luck. Those
who enter the Boundless Secular World will either die a violent death or return home
empty-handed. They would have difficulty in getting within twenty li near the basin.
Those who are not equipped with both wisdom and a valiant character, would have
difficulty in getting within twenty li near the basin. Those who have been here for a period
of more than half a month would anxiously head back, so what right would they have to
see me? Those who trespass within twenty li of the basin, yet cannot empathise with me or
is not my Fated One, their fates will not end well. One hundred thousand years have
elapsed in a flash. Since my Fated One has arrived, why waste time? Hurry and come up
to meet me!”
After he finished, mist rolled in from afar. As he looked down from his position on top of
the mountain peak, he could vaguely see the swarm of Hell Mantises being enveloped all
around by the swiftly arriving dense mist.
Miao Yi, who was at the bottom of the mountain, did not hear a word that was said. He
was still glancing around in alertness, wondering where the qin’s melody had gone to?
When he saw there was actually a man-made stone staircase at the foot of the mountain,
which seemed to lead the way up, he carried the butcher knife and moved nearer, slowly
climbing up one step at a time.
Once he stepped onto the mountain peak, he was instantly drawn in by the sight of a large
stone. A flying nymph was depicted on the large stone; lithe, relaxed and graceful.
Although it was a statue, the sculpt was extremely life-like, as well as so poignantly
beautiful a person couldn’t help but look twice.
Fate ends not when the Immortal Hero has a path to walk, a boat made of white bones
sails the boundless sea of blood!
Two vertical lines of large, blood-red wordings were situated at the side of the woman’s
carved figure, akin to a background narration. The words looked bloody and awe-
inspiring, exuding an extraordinary aura, but their meaning was unknown.
The flying nymph’s appearance was very attractive, but considering his current location,
Miao Yi had no interest in leisurely admiring it. He gripped the butcher knife and
continued walking forward.
After advancing several meters, Miao Yi stopped again after noticing a figure standing
beside the cliff, with hands clasped behind their back. Seeing this, Miao Yi held the
butcher knife nervously as he asked, “Were you the one playing the qin?”
The scholar turned slowly and looked at Miao Yi with scrutiny.
Seeing the scholar’s appearance, Miao Yi was instantly shocked, his eyes widened and
with mouth agape. He had never seen a man that good-looking, with an aura that reached
above the clouds. The eyes that studied him were like those of an Immortal looking down
from above the Nine Heavens.
“Immortal?” Miao Yi asked nervously.
The scholar shook his head.
Miao Yi asked again, “Demon?”
The scholar shook his head once more.
Miao Yi abruptly raised his hand and smacked his forehead as he laughed uncontrollably,
realizing he was worrying too much for nothing. No matter if they were a god, demon,
devil, ghost or a monster, they would not be able to enter the Boundless Secular World
unless they were mortals. If not, the Immortals outside would have already entered by
now.
Miao Yi smiled and said, “Uncle, you are so handsome.”
The scholar nodded with a smile, as if giving thanks for the compliment.
Seeing that the scholar had no weapons, Miao Yi felt slightly relieved and asked again,
“Were you the one playing the qin?”
“I was only drawn here by the melody of the qin,” the scholar finally spoke. His tone was
weirdly calm, as he waved his hand and pointed at an ancient qin. “Only the qin is seen,
but the qin player is nowhere to be found. I wonder who was playing the qin.”
“Err……” Miao Yi turned his gaze to the platform and felt slightly speechless. If it
weren’t for the scholar pointing it out, he really wouldn’t have noticed that the gigantic
thing was actually a qin. As he walked closer to see it, he immediately felt his heart stir.
Upon approaching the instrument, he felt an unknown pressure from the qin, and even
glancing at it caused his heart to palpitate. The feeling was not due to the qin’s great size.
”Is this really a qin?” Miao Yi asked, unable to stop himself.
The scholar answered quietly, “Should be.“
“What a gigantic qin……” A thought suddenly flashed across Miao Yi’s mind, unknown
to others. Miao Yi looked left and right to check if there were other people. He suddenly
spread out his arms and held the qin, grunting as he leaned on it for a while, with his face
flushed red.
The scholar looked astonished as he wondered what Miao Yi was doing.
After watching for a while, the scholar understood and grinned.
The scholar hadn’t guessed wrong. Miao Yi had already assumed that this qin was a
treasure, because it was impossible for ordinary people to play due to its huge size. Thus,
Miao Yi had the idea of taking it. There was no one else around, the scholar didn’t look
the type that could fight and had no weapons, while he himself did. Therefore, he wanted
to seize this chance to flee with this ancient qin.
However, the thing that made Miao Yi frustrated was that even when he exerted his full
strength, he couldn’t move this ancient qin, not even an inch. It was as heavy as a
mountain.
As Miao Yi really couldn’t move it, in the end he let go of the ancient qin and smiled
awkwardly, “I was only checking how heavy it is. And it really is heavy……Uncle, what’s
your surname?”
“Just call me Lao Bai.” The scholar smiled and stared at the ancient qin as he asked, “You
want to take it outside?”
Miao Yi said with disdain, “You don’t want to take it outside?”
The scholar answered, “I too, wouldn’t be able to move it.”
Miao Yi tried asking again, “Are you going to go back and find people to move it
outside?”
The scholar shook his head slightly as he answered, “I would suggest that you keep this
ancient qin a secret, otherwise, you will only bring trouble to yourself.”
Miao Yi felt dubious as he asked again, “Why?”
The scholar smiled softly and said, “Didn’t you notice how dangerous it was on your way
here? If the Immortals outside knew, even if they sent men to to help you move the qin,
they would definitely ask you to lead the way. Therefore, I won’t mention this qin when I
get out, because I don’t wish to bring trouble upon myself.”
Miao Yi pondered for a while. He couldn’t help but admit that what the scholar said made
sense. Disregarding the date for when the Ultimate Formation would be sealed off, Miao
Yi himself had already experienced the dangers in this place. It was already considered
lucky for him to be able to make it this far. If he was forced by the Immortals to lead the
way, he might not be able to make it back alive.
Miao Yi thought it through and realized that he could only leave this qin aside temporarily.
He then stared at the scholar, whose clothes looked clean and spotless and asked, “You
really didn’t see who played the qin just now?”
“If you are talking about just now, I did simply pluck it a few times.” The scholar walked
to the qin and stretched his fingers as he plucked the strings, making a bell-like melody
which sounded like the flow of water.
As the melody of the qin rang, Miao Yi quivered. In that very instant, it was as if he were
a man possessed, as he stared at the trembling strings with a blank expression.
“You are so young, so why did you risk your life to come here?” The scholar didn’t even
turn his head. He only stared at his own five fingers that were playing the qin, and
nonchalantly asked his question.
It was as if Miao Yi were dreaming. Whatever the scholar asked, he answered honestly.
When the scholar asked everything he wanted to know, he plucked the string with his
index finger, making a “Dong” sound. Miao Yi immediately woke up from his absent-
minded state.
Before he realized what was going on, the scholar stretched out his hand towards Miao Yi,
showing a piece of jewelry in his palm.
It was a string of dark green beads. It seemed to be a necklace, appearing simple but very
pleasant to look at.
Miao Yi exclaimed in shock, “For me?”
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 7: The Scholar (3)

The scholar nodded and laughed. “Fate must have led us to meet, so treat it as a welcome
gift. Keep it as a souvenir. ”
They had yet to exchange a few words, let alone the origin of each other’s background,
and he was already giving him gifts? Miao Yi felt the guy was a bit peculiar, but the item
he gifted didn’t look too bad. It might even be of value, so he accepted it without
hesitation.
He proceeded to take the item into his hand, feigning generosity as he wore it around his
neck, thanking the scholar on the spot.
The scholar turned on his heels and set off, walking towards the edge of the cliff. Both his
cloak and beautiful hair fluttered amidst the clouds and mist, giving the impression of an
Immortal with an extraordinary temperament.
He lowered his gaze, scanning from the cliff’s point to halfway down the mountain. There
grew five plants, each emitting a faint golden glow around them, which the cultivators
revered as a divine healing medicine called the Glorious Star immortal herb. It was also
one of the items that Miao Yi came here to seek.
His back turned against Miao Yi, the scholar faced the mountainside and with a mere snap
of his fingers, three of the five immortal herbs instantly turned to dust by a strange,
unexplainable force. Only two immortal herbs remained.
This item that was dreamt of by many, was destroyed with a mere snap of his fingers.
He left two of the immortal herbs behind, not for any other reason than that Miao Yi had
said he had two siblings. He wanted to see how Miao Yi would make his decision.
The scholar pointed towards the mountainside and without turning his head, said in a
seemingly passing remark, “Little Brother, come here and take a look.”
Miao Yi still remained vigilant in the presence of this peculiar man, never letting go of the
butcher knife in his hand. He walked over, keeping his distance between them, and looked
towards the direction the man pointed his finger at. His gaze stilled at once as he cried out
involuntarily, “Immortal herb! It’s the immortal herb!” And there were even two of them.
But he soon quickly caught on that something was amiss so he turned to stare at the
scholar, asking, “Why didn’t you gather them? Did you not come here because of these
treasures?”
“Clothes can easily get dirty if you climb up and down.”
The scholar gave a reason which Miao Yi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at, turned
on his heels and walked off.
Mouth agape, Miao Yi was speechless. He watched the receding figure of the scholar
smugly strolling away, and finally understood why the man was clean. Coming to this
place where the plants were carbonized and where every slow step taken can easily get a
person smeared in black, the man could still manage to be untainted by even a speck of
dust. He must have a strong obsession with cleanliness.
Yet Miao Yi still felt heavily dubious about it, if the man was scared of getting dirty then
why did he still venture here? Was there some kind of ruse at play?
“Where are you going?” Miao Yi gave chase till he reached the side of the stairs and
watched the scholar retreat swiftly down the mountain. He yelled, “Why don’t we go
together?”
“Fate ends not when the Immortal Hero has a path to walk, a boat made of white bones
sails the boundless sea of blood! Little Brother, till we meet again.”
The scholar’s voice resounded from afar.
Miao Yi subconsciously glanced back at the words on the large stone behind him, and
turned to gaze at the bottom of the mountain again, realizing that the scholar had already
disappeared into the mist.
Currently, he wasn’t in the mood to think about anything else. Who cared if the man was
scheming or not, he would think about it later because right now, he needed to gather the
two immortal herbs first.
Turning to run towards the side of the cliff, he strapped the butcher knife to his waist and
used all four limbs to slowly and carefully climb down.
The mountain was not extremely steep, leading Miao Yi to successfully feel his way
towards the immortal herbs. His eyes gleamed as his heart pounded in excitement.
During his travels, he had witnessed with his own eyes many men fighting life and death
struggles for this item. It was unclear as to how many men had lost their lives to fight for
just one immortal herb alone, and now he had found two of them in short order. It was
hard for him to contain his excitement.
He had seen the immortal herb Yan Beihong had snagged before, but it wasn’t as big as
the two immortal herbs he was seeing in front of him now.
WIth his body pressed against the cliff, Miao Yi was not in the mood to admire the two
immortal herbs he had just gathered. The scholar had left him anxious and slightly worried
about the generosity he had shown him earlier. He then quickly tore off a cloth and
wrapped the immortal herbs inside it, hiding it in his clothes.
After ensuring that the immortal herbs were safely tucked away, he proceeded to climb up
for a short distance before he suddenly felt the wind rise and clouds beginning to gather at
his side.
Windy? As he turned his head to look, what he saw almost scared the living daylights out
of him.
A Hell Mantis as long as two zhang was suspended in the air behind him, flapping its
wings. Green eyes on a three horned head locked onto him, and its razor sharp mouth was
chewing incessantly.
I’m finished! Miao Yi lowered his head and cast a look at the lake at the bottom of the
mountain. He was going to die no matter which way he went, so he might as well give one
last shot. Hardening his heart, he loosened his grip on the cliff, immediately jumping
down into the lake below.
Just as he was about to fall and crash onto the surface of the lake, he felt his body
suddenly come to a halt mid-air before ascending once more.
Miao Yi went mad. His finger was already able to touch the lake’s surface. He struggled in
his efforts to reach his hand out towards the water, desperately hoping to dive into the
lake. But in the end it was all futile, as his body was swiftly dragged away from the
surface just within his arm’s reach.
Who would have thought that the Hell Mantis would save Miao Yi from drowning himself
in the lake? Sharp barbs covered its four limbs, and they wrapped around Miao Yi as it
swiftly swept past the surface of the lake into the far-off distance.
He had finally managed to gather the immortal herbs after great difficulty, but who knew
he would fall once again into a Hell Mantis’s grasp.
Miao Yi felt close to tears. Pulling out the butcher knife strapped to his waist, he
aggressively slashed twice at the limbs holding onto him, hoping that the Hell Mantis
would loosen its grip, and eventually drop him into the lake below.
Two clangs sounded out, and to his surprise, the places where his butcher knife had
slashed unexpectedly produced sparks, as though he was hacking at metal. However, he
still didn’t manage to leave any trace of a mark on it. Instead, it caused the Hell Mantis,
who was flying at a fast speed, to lower its head and gaze at its abdomen.
Getting stared at by those horrific green eyes, Miao Yi’s expression went rigid, his raised
butcher knife frozen still. He didn’t dare to simply slash around furiously anymore, in fear
of being strangled to death.
The Hell Mantis suddenly hastened its speed, flying past clouds and through the mist.
Strong gusts of wind hit Miao Yi’s face upfront till he couldn’t even open his eyes, his
body quaking from coldness.
He wasn’t sure how long they flew. After sensing that their speed had slowed down, he
opened his eyes only to discover that the Hell Mantis was swooping down to a lower
altitude in a sudden movement.
Seeing that he was about to crash into the ground, Miao Yi felt his heart dragged to his
throat.
All of a sudden, the Hell Mantis turned over in the air, negating the force of the fall, and at
the same time, its four limbs loosened its grip on Miao Yi.
“Ah….cough….”
After falling flat on his face onto the ground, Miao Yi struggled to get back up on his feet,
spitting out a couple mouthfuls of mud. His movements were swift as he instinctively
flipped over to see what the Hell Mantis wanted to do with him.
“….” In the end, he didn’t get to see anything because the Hell Mantis had disappeared
completely, leaving no trace behind. He had no clue as to where the Hell Mantis had gone
to. And the most unbelievable thing was…
Miao Yi widened his eyes as he looked straight ahead. He moved his cold, numbed limbs,
and then staggered out of the boundless mist.
Before his eyes, a jostling crowd of onlookers stared straight at him from outside.
Behind the crowd was the familiar Ancient City. When the Boundless Secular World lifted
its seal, he had set off from here.
Abruptly turning his head to look behind him, he was greeted with the boundless mist.
He rubbed his eyes hard, even doing a double take, thinking this was all in his
imagination. After a number of confirmations ensuring that he wasn’t seeing things, it
finally hit him that he had just come out of the place. He had actually come out? The Hell
Mantis had actually unintentionally sent him out?
“Eldest Zhang, is that you?”
A woman with a scarf wrapped around her head kept her gaze on the horrible looking
Miao Yi, seemingly afraid to confirm whether it was really him.
Another reason she didn’t dare confirm his identity was because all the plants in the
Boundless Secular World had been carbonized, turning them black in color. Those who
entered all reappeared as if they had just come out from a coal mine. If it weren’t for the
fact that the butcher knife strapped to Miao Yi’s waist looked familiar in her eyes, the
woman would not have bothered to open her mouth to ask.
As to why she had called Miao Yi, Eldest Zhang, it was because Miao Yi had a younger
brother and sister. His brother’s name was called Zheng Fengbao, who was fourteen years
old, while his sister was only twelve years of age, called Lu Xuexin.
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 8: Younger Siblings

When Miao Yi was eight years old, his house caught on fire. He became an orphan, and
was almost sent to the Manor of Merciful Hope.
The Manor of Merciful Hope was a charitable place that aimed to provide support for
widows and the needy who did not have the ability to survive by themselves.
This was a world that was completely led by cultivators; the strong had their statues
placed in every home, so that the common folk could worship them like gods. Everyday
they had to face these shrines and pray for six hours, devoting their power of will to them.
Those who were sent to the Manor of Merciful Hope would also spend most of their time
in the same way, except when they needed to eat, drink, urinate, defecate, and sleep. They
were no different than the pigs in the farm, living an inhumane life.
Luckily his neighbor - Lu Xuexin, and her parents, happened to live on the same street,
and they adopted Miao Yi just in time. Otherwise, he would have to be sent to the Manor
of Merciful Hope, as all orphans below the age of ten were forced to go.
Unfortunately two years later, the residence of the Lu family caught on fire one night.
Both husband and wife passed away during the fire, leaving their five year old daughter
behind.
In an instant, rumours that Death followed Miao Yi spread by word of mouth. However,
there were those who didn’t believe in such hearsay.
In other words, some people pitied the children and did not wish to see them suffer, and so
the street butcher Zhang Tufu decided to adopt the two children.
Another two years passed, and in the end, Zhang Tufu and his wife died in a forest fire
while doing work outside of their house. Another pair of kind souls were lost to the sea of
fire. And yet again, another child became an orphan. Hence, Miao Yi had become as the
rumours had whispered; the harbinger of death. Since then, no one dared to take him in.
Fortunately, living with Zhang Tufu and his family for two years, Miao Yi hadn’t stayed
for nothing. He did not want to bring along his younger sister, Lu Xuexin, to freeload in
the Zhang household, so he would always take the initiative to help Zhang Tufu with
miscellaneous work. As a result, he learned how to slaughter pigs.
The year when Miao Yi turned twelve years old, he picked up the butcher knife Zhang
Tufu left behind, and prepared himself to raise both his little brother and sister on his own.

However, this time Huang, the Head Guard who was in charge of this part of the city
streets, brought his men to find the children. As Fatty Zhang and Lu Xuexin did not have
any guardians looking after them, as well as the fact that they were also below the age of
ten, the guards intended to bring them to the city’s Manor of Merciful Hope as orphans.
At that time, Miao Yi panicked. He carried Lu Xuexin on his back, one hand leading Fatty
Zhang, and another hand clutching the butcher knife, as he stood against the guards. No
matter what, Miao Yi simply would not let them take his younger brother and sister away.
When he was an orphan, Lu Xuexin’s parents did not send him into the Manor of Merciful
Hope. When he became an orphan again with Lu Xuexin, the Zhang Tufu couple also did
not send the both of them to the Manor of Merciful Hope. So how could Miao Yi
helplessly watch both of his foster parents’ children be sent to that place?
At that time, the anxious and panic-stricken Miao Yi knew that it would be useless even if
he used force. A young boy like him would not be able to win against a group of grown
men. As he faced Head Guard Huang and his men, he slipped past them and ran outside to
shout for help, causing his neighbors to rush towards him in answer. Miao Yi took the
opportunity to ask for justice, and proceeded to use the butcher knife to stab his thigh, all
to make clear his true intentions. He would rather die than send his little brother and sister
to the Manor of Merciful Hope. Miao Yi told all who listened that he had the ability to
raise both of his siblings.
As the neighbors watched the blood streaming down from Miao Yi’s thigh, they were
emotionally moved by his actions. As a result, the neighbors urged Head Guard Huang not
to be callous.
With the pressure from all the neighbors’ clamorings, Head Guard Huang was unable to
act, as he did not want to provoke the public’s wrath. After all, the neighbors all met each
other frequently. Head Guard Huang had no choice but to leave in embarrassment.
Consequently, Head Guard Huang’s family never took an interest in Miao Yi. However,
his son, Huang Cheng, would afterwards always come around to pick a fight with Miao
Yi.
Nonetheless, to Miao Yi, that wasn’t important. In short, from that day onwards, he did
not mind how tough things would get, since from a young age his living was dependent on
butchering pigs. Miao Yi not only raised his siblings on his own, he also made the effort to
provide the means for his brother and sister to educate themselves and study. He would
work hard to provide the siblings with whatever the other children would generally have.
The place the three siblings lived in was the residence that Zhang Tufu and his wife had
left behind. Due to this, the neighbors would commonly address Miao Yi as Eldest Zhang.
Hearing a familiar form of address and seeing familiar faces, Miao Yi could finally
confirm that he had escaped from the Boundless Secular World.
Looking back at the endlessly strange place, he had mixed feelings of sadness and
happiness. Other people could not possibly imagine the danger inside. He had narrowly
escaped his death numerous times, and now he was finally out of there!
And he was also safe! For the purpose of maintaining order, an Immortal stood in defense
on the walls of the Ancient City. Even if everyone were aware he had treasures on this
person, no one would dare loot from him.
But he would still need to be on his toes and strike no conversation with anyone. Under
everyone’s attentive gaze, he quickly left the crowd and headed towards the direction of
the Ancient City.
A lot of people’s gazes fell onto Miao Yi’s bag, speculating whether he had found any
treasures inside. After all, there were a number of people who managed to get out, still
scared out of their wits, but returned home empty-handed.
The Ancient City was only two li away from the treacherous Boundless Secular World. In
early years, the ancestors of the city folk resided at the Ancient City. But after an
earthshaking catastrophe transpired in their city, which resulted in the Ultimate Deathly
Strike Formation, half the sun became shrouded by a vast blood mist. For ordinary people,
the disappearance of half the sunlight would have some impact on their lives, for example,
simple chores such as doing the laundry. And so, they went dozens li away to build a new
city.
And each time the Boundless Secular World became accessible again, they would organize
people to rebuild the Ancient City to welcome the arrival of large numbers of cultivators
coming in.
The three siblings promised to meet under the old willow tree just outside the walls of the
Ancient City. This willow tree had been struck dead by lightning a thousand years ago. So
when the siblings came, they were shocked to discover that the old, dead willow tree had
unexpectedly revived. It was then that they decided to meet under the old tree.
Under the shade of the tree was a round and plump Little Fatty. His cunning eyes showed
a hint of anxiety as he looked around constantly.
One little girl was combing her braids, sitting with her back pressed against the old willow
tree, her skin as white as jade. She was a natural beauty, but her eyes looked sore and red,
as though she had just been crying.
“Do you think Big Brother is already dead?” The little girl grabbed onto Little Fatty’s
pants as she sobbed.
Little Fatty spat in contempt and said, “You and your big mouth, didn’t you hear what the
neighbors said? Big Brother is a harbinger of death, so even if everyone died, Big Brother
would not.”
Although he said those words, his anxious eyes betrayed what his heart was really
thinking. A few months before the opening of the Boundless Secular World, his big
brother suddenly allowed him to learn how to butcher pigs. At that time, he knew that his
big brother had already made full preparations. In case something happened to his big
brother, he would at least have a trade to support his sister and move on with their life.
Both siblings did not want their big brother to take this kind of risk, but they could not do
anything to stop it.
Little Fatty was a bit older than Lu Xuexin, so he knew what was going on inside his big
brother’s head. The neighbors called his big brother a harbinger of death because he drove
both of their parents to death. Maybe his big brother was taking this risk to repay their
gratitude, or maybe he was guilty of their deaths, or maybe he wanted to prove something
to the neighbors. As long as the opportunity arose, his big brother would do anything to
fight for a better living for his siblings.This time, there was an opportunity for the two
siblings to become Immortals. Of course their big brother would risk his life to get this
power for them.
“Sob sob, did we get Big Brother into trouble? I heard that Old Li from the Tofu shop
refused to let Sister Li marry Big Brother, because we’re burdens to the family,” cried the
little girl.
“Little Sister, don’t cry anymore. Your crying is annoying me to death.”
As Little Fatty became impatient from patting the little girl’s head, he suddenly heard a
familiar shout, “Little Brother, Little Sister.”
Little Fatty and the little girl quickly raised their heads and looked to where the sound had
come from. But they could only see a person, who looked like they had climbed out from
a pile of coals, running towards them in a sprint.
“Big Brother! Big Brother!”
The little girl shouted in surprise, leaping up and rushing towards her big brother, with
Little Fatty following.
The three siblings hugged each other happily.
As the three of them pulled away from the hug, the little girl straightaway patted Miao
Yi’s body. Meanwhile, the Little Fatty scoffed, “Little Sister was even worried that you
might have died in there. Little ol’ me told her, who do you think Big Brother is, Big
Brother would not die so easily!”
After saying that, he looked around and then sneakily whispered into Miao Yi’s ears. “Big
Brother, since you personally went in, did you get it?”
Looking at how he acted, one could tell he wasn’t a good-natured kid. Indeed, Fatty Zhang
liked committing all manner of crimes and do things stealthily from a very young age.
When the neighbors resented him for doing such things, they regretted not sending him to
the Manor of Merciful Hope, as it would have saved them a lot of trouble.
Miao Yi patted the bulging package on his chest, hinting at its contents.
“Really?” Fatty Zhang’s and Little Lu’s eyes instantly shone with brightness.
Miao Yi shook his head slightly and looked around, signalling for them not to make such a
commotion.
Fatty Zhang looked like a fox who had stolen a chicken, his hand holding his round
stomach as he scoffed, “D*mn it, didn’t Old Huang send his beautiful daughter to the
Immortal as a handmaiden, and then used her to become Head Guard? And now he’s using
that position to bully us.. When we get back, he’ll see little ol’ me take care of the Huang
Clan, especially that bastard Huang Cheng, I’m going to pinch his balls out! If I don’t
exact revenge, then I’m not a man, just you wait and see!
Fatty Zhang showed a smug expression, but Miao Yi’s expression changed.
There was a saying that enemies often crossed each other’s paths. After mentioning Head
Guard Huang’s name, they saw the man himself, and a dozen of his blade-wielding men,
appear before them.
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 9: Fairy Hong Chen

Standing beside Head Guard Huang was a man who looked like he had crawled out from a
pile of coals. It wasn’t just any man, but one of the Zhao Brothers, Zhao Xingwu, the
henchman of Huang Cheng, the son of Head Guard Huang.
After experiencing first-hand the dangers of the Boundless Secular World, he thought
Zhao Xingwu wouldn’t be able to come out of it alive. But never would he have imagined
that Zhao Xingwu would actually manage to survive and return from the ordeal.
Without any explanation needed, just by looking at the big blade that Head Guard Huang
personally brought with him, Miao Yi knew that Zhao Xingwu had already told him
everything.
Normally, no one would even dare cause such a ruckus here, but Head Guard Huang was
one of the heads of security who had just been transferred from a nearby city wall to serve
and protect. Since Miao Yi had just killed his son, it was entirely possible that he had
found the perfect reason to deal with him.
“Quickly, climb up the willow tree!” Miao Yi frantically pushed his siblings to run
towards the tree.
After the three siblings climbed up, hiding behind the leaves and branches, Fatty Zhang
felt like something was amiss. He watched as Head Guard Huang led a bunch of people in
search of them, then asked in a lowered voice, “Big Brother, did something happen?”
Immediately, Miao Yi quickly explained in simple terms that he had murdered Huang
Cheng and Zhao Xingkui. Shocked, Little Lu covered her mouth, staring blankly at her big
brother with her big, beautiful round eyes.
Fatty Zhang also found himself slightly shocked as well. He would never have imagined
that his big brother could kill someone. But very quickly, anger took over and he said,
“Since he dared to do the vicious deed, I will kill the entire Huang Clan myself, sooner or
later!”
Just then, cries of alarm could be heard coming from people inside and outside of the city.
Everyone lifted their head and looked towards the sky.
A magnificent phantom of a golden phoenix soared right above the Ancient City.
After circling around a few times, the golden phoenix suddenly disintegrated into multiple
rays of golden light. Emerging from the light was a woman wearing red clothing that
fluttered in the wind. The golden rays of light transformed into dangling golden hairpins
on the woman’s head, and the three golden bracelets on her wrists.
Two pieces of red silk, each about a hundred meters long, flowed into the sky, coiling
around the woman’s arms. The silk supported the red-clothed woman as she slowly
descended onto the city wall.
Her red skirt fluttered up, revealing a length of bare, jade-white ankles. A pair of curved
red shoes with pointed toes, landed softly on the dent of the city wall. Her posture was
elegant, like a real fairy walking over ripples of water.
The hundred-meter long, red silk on her arms still floated in the sky, as if trying to pull the
flowy-dressed woman back to the Heavens, to shield her away from the blasphemy of the
secular world below.
This red-clothed celestial maiden stood exactly above the willow tree. The three siblings
only had to lift up their heads to see her from a very close distance, each of them struck
dumb by her presence.
This living, alluring woman, a seemingly ageless beauty, had appeared right before the
three siblings. Her skin was as smooth as cream, her eyes clear and sparkling. With her
small nose and red lips, her overall looks were picturesque.
A red silk sash fitted right on her waist, complimenting her graceful posture and making
her chest appear fuller, and her waist slender and dainty. Between her eyebrows, a small
red lotus with six petals bloomed, as vivid as life.
Above all, her cold aura within her reserved attitude was a sight to behold. People could
only gaze from afar, afraid to approach her.
From where they hid, Miao Yi and his younger siblings could smell the fragrant scent of a
valley of orchids. This must be the fragrance of the red-clothed celestial maiden.
Miao Yi and Fatty Zhang could not believe their eyes. Before, Miao Yi thought Tofu shop
Old Li’s daughter was pretty enough, but when compared with this celestial maiden, it
wasn’t just their looks, the aura of one was of Heaven while the other was of Earth; the
two couldn’t be compared to begin with.
A cultivator wearing silver armor rushed over to the city wall, cupped his hands in a
gesture of salutation, and said, “I am Yang Qing, Mountain Chieftain of Mount Shaotai
from the Fifth Earthly Branch domain. I did not know Fairy Hong Chen would be
personally coming here. Please excuse me for not coming to meet you on time!”
As he said this, the cultivators inside the city were shocked. She was actually Fairy Hong
Chen? A lot of people had heard things about her, but had never seen her in person.
Maybe some people would not know who Fairy Hong Chen was. But it was presumed that
the cultivators would know of the Six Sages of Heaven and Earth, since they were the six
strongest within the cultivation world. The cultivators could only look up to the Six Sages,
feeling overpowered by their strength.
And Fairy Hong Chen was the youngest disciple of the Immortal Sage, Mu Fanjun, so one
could imagine her actual status.
Little Lu noticed how her two brothers almost drooled when they saw the beautiful
celestial maiden. She pursed her lips, looking unhappy. Even from a young age, she knew
the taste of jealousy. She stretched her arms towards her brothers and pinched the sides of
their waists.
The brothers snapped back to reality from the agony of their pain. Fatty Zhang rubbed on
the spot where he was pinched and gave a warning glare at Little Lu. He turned his head
back and continued admiring the beautiful woman.
Miao Yi looked around him and noticed that everyone had been enticed by the red-clothed
celestial maiden. This was the right moment to escape back into the Ancient City. Once
inside the city, Head Guard Huang wouldn’t dare cause a ruckus.
He quickly signaled his brother and sister, and the three of them slid down the now
revived willow tree, sticking close to the base of the city wall, and bracing themselves for
a quick escape.
But before reaching the bottom of the tree, Miao Yi raised his head and gazed deeply at
Fairy Hong Chen once more, imprinting her outstandingly beautiful smile deep into his
mind. He imagined how great it would be if he could marry her and take her as his wife
one day. As he turned away, he knew that such thoughts were ridiculous. He didn’t even
have the qualifications to marry Old Li’s daughter from the tofu shop, much less try to
marry a celestial maiden. He really was crying for the moon…
Fairy Hong Chen had already noticed the three siblings hiding in the willow tree below
her. But she only gave them a brief glance, she didn’t even notice the silver-armored
cultivator’s salutation. Her puzzled eyes swept all corners of her surroundings, as her lips
murmured repeatedly, “Hong Chen inquires at the secular world, a dying tree once again
meets spring…”
This prophecy had left her confused for quite a while. A few days ago, the most secretive
and elusive Oracle of the cultivation world came unexpectedly to the Realm Beyond
Heaven, a paradise for the Immortal clan belonging to the Immortal Sage, Mu Fanjun. He
came and requested something from Mu Fanjun, who gladly agreed, seemingly eager to
bestow the request…
The Oracle was the master of divination. Rumors say that he is able to divine heavenly
secrets, but he maintains an air of mystery, keeping a low-profile to prevent people from
finding him. The Oracle doesn’t normally seek others on his own, so naturally, Mu Fanjun
used this rare chance to ask for a divination.
Maybe it was because Mu Fanjun had granted his requested favor, and therefore the
Oracle did not refuse. He grinded jade into powder, and on his plate he divined a
prophecy: ‘Hong Chen inquires at the secular world, a dying tree once again meets
spring’.
Nobody could understand what that prophecy meant. Mu Fanjun consulted the Oracle
straightaway, requesting an explanation.
The Oracle shook his head and said, secrets of the Heavens must never be revealed.
Mu Fanjun asked again, was it ominous or auspicious?
But the Oracle titled his head and looked at Fairy Hong Chen, who was there as well. He
smiled and said nothing, and soon after that, he left.
The way he looked at Fairy Hong Chen had naturally caught everyone’s notice. Everyone
focused their attention on her, as though they had found a breakthrough In the prophecy.
Wasn’t there a ‘Hong Chen’ in Fairy Hong Chen’s name? And the ‘Boundless Secular
World’, which had recently garnered a lot of attention, had already lifted its seal. At that
point, everyone seemed to knew what the next course of action would be.
So, Mu Fanjun sent out Fairy Hong Chen, in the hopes that she could find out the meaning
of the words, ‘a dying tree once again meets spring’.
However, Fairy Hong Chen had gone to different spots around the Boundless Secular
World, and yet she still couldn’t find out what ‘a dying tree once again meets spring’
meant. This was already the sixth spot she had descended upon.
Just as she thought that searching this place would come to no fruition and was preparing
to fly away, her eyes suddenly gleamed, and she directed her stare at a particular area
inside the Ancient City.
Inside the city, she saw a richly ornamented residence’s roof that had a young green leaf
sprouting out from it. The timber-turned-beam could actually grow out a new branch, the
tender bit of green swaying around in the gentle breeze, fresh and moving.
‘A dying tree once again meets spring…” It seemed to Fairy Hong Chen that she had
found a clue. She drifted away from the city wall, dragging along two hundred meters of
red silk that fluttered in the sky, and headed towards that building inside the city.
Meanwhile, the old willow tree beneath the shadow of the city wall was left alone,
drooping and dancing…
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 10: As Prophesized (1)

In a residence’s courtyard inside the city, there was a kind-faced cultivator who carried a
sword on his back, decked out in yellow robes. He gazed after Fairy Hong Chen’s figure
as she disappeared into the richly ornamented building. Seemingly coming to a realization,
he murmured to himself, “I see!”
He looked like he had understood something, then gave a smile, and went back into his
house. He sat in a lotus stance on the bed, both hands positioned into an Orchid Buddha
Seal, each placed on the left and right knees respectively. He shut his eyes and mouth, and
chanted in an obscure sanskrit.
Normal people probably couldn’t see anything, but those with profound transcendence
energy would definitely see a stream of golden ‘swastika¹’ words flowing out from his
moving mouth. Those words grew from small to big, quickly flying out of the door and
disappearing completely without a trace…
Inside the city, the three siblings gave a long sigh of relief when they finally escaped Head
Guard Huang and slipped past the city walls.
They found an old well, where Miao Yi scooped a bucket of water to cleanse himself with,
then led his two siblings onto the streets. The three of them became exceptionally excited
as they walked amongst the crowd, looking forward to their glorious moment of becoming
Immortals.
But what gave them a headache was, they didn’t know which School of Immortals to join!
If they went according to what normal people would think, joining the greatest School of
Immortals would be the best. But the three of them didn’t even know which school was
the best.
Every sect wanted the treasures found from within the Boundless Secular World. From the
earliest years of manslaughter and robbery, the cultivators who gathered here from
different schools and sects slowly set out rules and regulations for all. For the sake of
fairness, they decided that no one was allowed to pull any tricks, such as ‘pulling
customers’ from the streets. It all depended on the voluntary acts of the treasure hunter.
Whoever the treasure hunter chose to gift the treasures to, the treasures would belong to
that person or sect.
But it was impossible to be completely fair. The bigger sects inside the Ancient City had
divided residences that were lofty and grand. The smaller sects, on the other hand, owned
residences with standards that were significantly worse. If depending on the voluntary acts
of the treasure hunter, the smaller sects would definitely suffer the losses.
But there definitely were a lot of lofty and grand residences! The three siblings prepared
themselves to compare each residence.
“Zhang Fengbao… Zhang Fengbao…”
As the three siblings passed a street corner, Fatty Zhang halted in his tracks and turned his
head, his face showing an expression of surprise as he looked around.
“Brother, what are you doing?” Miao Yi and Little Lu stopped to ask.
“Someone is calling me,” Fatty Zhang said, still looking around.
“Who called you?” Miao Yi and Little Lu didn’t see anyone nearby.
“Listen! It sounds like it’s coming from this way.” Fatty Zhang pointed towards the other
end of the street.
Big brother and little sister raised their ears but couldn’t hear anything. They looked at
each other and shook their heads. Little Lu laughed sneeringly, “Second Brother is lying
again.”
Miao Yi seemed like he didn’t dare speak highly of his little brother’s character. He
frowned and said, “Little Brother, stop fooling around.”
Panicking, Fatty Zhang pointed towards the end of the street. “You guys listen for
yourselves! Someone keeps calling Zhang Fengbao, Zhang Fengbao.”
Little Lu expressed her suspicions at Fatty Zhang as she said, “Second Brother, everyone
who knows you calls you Fatty Zhang, right?”
“I…” Fatty Zhang was speechless. He thought he was mishearing things, so he dug in his
ear with his little finger and yet, he could still hear it. So he couldn’t help but cry out
helplessly, “Big Brother, you guys seriously don’t hear it? You’re not playing me, right?”
Little Lu shook her head. She stared at her unrepentant second brother with disdain.
Seeing that his brother didn’t look like he was lying, Miao Yi suddenly thought about an
incident which happened in the Boundless Secular World. During that time, he heard a
qin’s melody and yet, Yan Beihong insisted he hadn’t heard anything at all. The current
situation seemed similar to what he had experienced.
“Go, let’s go take a look!” Miao Yi called out, and let Fatty Zhang lead the way.
After moving past the street, the trio arrived outside a residence’s small courtyard. Fatty
Zhang pointed at the courtyard and said, “This is the place.”
Without saying another word, and not waiting for Miao Yi’s instruction, Fatty Zhang was
already pushing open the courtyard gate, shouting, “Who’s there? I…”
He choked on his words. The three siblings’ eyes widened, the three of them finding it
difficult to believe what they were seeing inside the courtyard.
If they hadn’t opened the gate and just looked in from outside the courtyard, they would
only see an ordinary building. But once they pushed open the gate, it was a whole different
world. There were flashing rays of light, waves of auspicious auras intertwining together,
the sound of heavenly music in the air, and exotic smells assailing the nostrils. Standing
left and right were numerous majestic-looking demigods, clad in golden armor. This was
not an ordinary residence at all, this place was clearly a paradise for Immortals.
Inside the dwelling covered in the glow of the sun, an Immortal clad in yellow robes, with
a sword on his back, sat cross-legged on top of a lotus flower throne. His face showed an
amiable smile, beckoning the three of them to come in.
With such a great Immortal inviting them in, the three of them did not dare to refuse. As
they carefully entered the courtyard, the gate behind them closed by itself.
The Yellow-Robed Great Immortal swept a look across the three of them, and finally
dropped his gaze onto Fatty Zhang’s face. He gave a slight nod and smiled, “Were you the
one who heard my summoning?”
Fatty Zhang’s usual sly and crafty attitude was completely gone. He nodded, looking both
earnest and foolish. When running into a formidable man, his style was to act honest and
well-behaved.
The Yellow-Robed Great Immortal laughed, “I wished to find a disciple to pass on my
mantle. Regrettably, there has been no suitable candidate so far. I met with the Oracle and
asked for his advice. The Oracle gave me a prophecy and as expected, the destined one
has arrived.”
The three who had kept themselves compliant, cautiously listening to his speech, did not
understand a word he was talking about. The Yellow-Robed Great Immortal seemed not to
care if the three siblings understood what he said or not. He only asked Fatty Zhang, “Will
you be my disciple?”
When the three of them walked around the city, the residences of other Immortal sects
who were accepting people, all seemed more grander compared to this residence. But
upon passing the gates of this residence, they found there wasn’t much difference in
grandeur between here and those other Immortal clans.
Who could tell which one was good and which one was bad? This Immortal’s appearance
looked as if it covered a great facade. Miao Yi gritted his teeth, reaching into his clothes in
search of something. He took out two immortal herbs, placing one of each onto Fatty
Zhang’s and Little Lu’s hands, and then pushed them towards the Yellow-Robed Immortal.
It was also Fatty Zhang and Little Lu’s first time laying their eyes upon the Glorious Star
immortal herb. As they gazed at the herb’s red-stone branches and its gem leaves shrouded
by little starlight, they couldn’t take their eyes off for even a moment.
The Yellow-Robed Immortal was also caught by surprise when he saw the two immortal
herbs. Judging by the size of the immortal herbs, he could tell that they had grown for
quite a long time, probably more than ten thousand years. The glance he casted at Miao Yi
was laced with suspicion. He asked, “Did you enter the Boundless Secular World?”
Miao Yi thought in his heart, what kind of rubbish is he asking, if I didn’t find the
immortal herbs and offer them to you, would you even accept us? But on the surface, he
nodded and replied, “Yes.”
The Yellow-Robed Immortal immediately cast a sharp glance at Miao Yi with his keen
eyes, scrutinizing Miao Yi’s entire body. He could tell that Miao Yi only had two immortal
herbs on him. He felt sorry, and said, “Your temperament is hard to come by, but it’s too
bad that leaving one immortal herb for you would cause you harm instead. No matter!”
After saying that, he lifted up his cuffs. The immortal herb held in Fatty Zhang’s hand
flew into his large sleeve with a woosh. He then pointed to the ground with his finger,
“Why are you still hesitating to kowtow and acknowledge your master!”
Fatty Zhang turned his head back and looked at Miao Yi, who nodded his head in reply.
Fatty Zhang knelt down on his knees at once and kowtowed, “Master!”
The Yellow-Robed Immortal let out a knowing laugh, then he nodded his head at Miao Yi
and Lu Xuexin and said, “Him, I will accept. Both of you can leave now.”
The three siblings were simultaneously frozen in shock. That wasn’t right, wasn’t he
supposed to accept them both so long as they had the immortal herb?
Fatty Zhang was the first one to jump up and exclaim, “Master, all three of us are here
together. We have the immortal herb, please accept all of us.”
The Yellow-Robed Immortal shook his head disapprovingly.
Miao Yi quickly pushed Lu Xuexin to the front, and begged, “Great Immortal, please
accept my sister, she too has the immortal herb. Little Sister, quickly kneel down and
acknowledge him as master!”
Lu Xuexin was about to kneel down, but the Yellow-Robed Immortal brushed his large
sleeves, halting her movements. She couldn’t kneel even if she wanted to.
Fatty Zhang also called out nervously from the sidelines, “Big Brother, Little Sister, both
of you quickly kneel down and acknowledge him as master!”
The three siblings were very simple-minded. As long as they were together, they could
still look after one another.
Even if he wanted to, Miao Yi couldn’t tell them that he had risked his life for those
immortal herbs, only just managing to bring back two.
“I am not really interested in the immortal herbs. Besides, our school doesn’t accept
female disciples!” The Yellow-Robed Immortal shook his head.
Fatty Zhang immediately gave up, he extended his hand and said, “Then give me back my
immortal herb. I don’t want to be your disciple anymore.”
The Yellow-Robed Immortal grinned and said, “This is not a market, you have already
kowtowed and called me master. In that sense, there is no going back on your words.”
After he said that, he brushed his large sleeves again and the courtyard gates opened
automatically. In an instant, a gust of wind swept Miao Yi and Lu Xuexin out of the gates.
As the gates closed, the two of them were barred outside, unable to enter. No matter how
much they shouted for the gates to open, the voices inside and outside were completely
disconnected from each.
Footnotes:
¹Swastika - A sacred symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism. Means good fortune or well-
being.
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 11 As Prophesized (2)

After the stubborn siblings had finally pried the gates open, both were once again left
dumbfounded. There was only an ordinary courtyard before them, the paradise from
before had completely vanished without a trace.
The two siblings searched every nook and cranny inside and outside the house, but there
was no one to be seen. Everything from before seemed like just a dream, and Fatty Zhang
had disappeared just like that. They didn’t even know where he went.
“Second Brother, Second Brother, where did you go…” Lu Xuexin cried.
Miao Yi stood there, blaming himself for quite some time before noticing the red stone
branches and gem leaves in his little sister’s hands. His spirits lifted, and he comforted
Little Lu, “Little Sister, don’t cry. Little Brother has found a good master. He will be fine.”
Big Brother’s words were always more reliable than Second Brother’s. She wiped away
her tears and sobbed, “Big Brother, how do you know that?”
Miao Yi pointed to the red stone branches and gem leaves in her hands and explained, “If
he really was a bad person, he wouldn’t have given up this other immortal herb.”
There was some sense to his words, so she asked again, “Where did they take Second
Brother to?”
Miao Yi couldn’t answer this question…
In the middle of a wasteland, dozens li away from the Ancient City, the Yellow-Robed
Immortal and Fatty Zhang stood face-to-face with each other. One had a big smile on his
face, while the other was filled with suppressed frustration.
A gust of wind blew, fluttering the wild grass. The dust on the Yellow-Robed Immortal
was blown away by the wind.
The hair on his head, the skin on his face, his clothes, and the long sword that he carried
on his back were slowly being blown away into dust. He looked like he had been covered
in a layer of soot, which was slowly being removed by each gust of wind, revealing the
true face underneath it.
The dust was whisked away from his body, revealing an old, bald, kind-faced monk, his
eyebrows two long strands that reached his chest. He looked thin yet energetic, and his
deep eyes were brimming with vigor.
The robes he wore on him, were clean and as white as snow, with black satin decorating
the edges. A gorgeous, interlocking cloud pattern was embroidered in gold upon the black
satin. There was a purple nine-petal lotus flower faintly glowing in between his brows.
Overall, he exuded an air of indescribable extravagance. It was obvious that he had a
gentle and kind appearance, but he also had an air of nobility, akin to that of a grand ruler,
which made him seem like an emperor within the monks.
Fatty Zhang was staring at him in bewilderment as he stuttered, “You’re a monk?”
The old monk gave him a benevolent smile. “I am afraid that the Celestial Nation does not
welcome the idea of the Buddha Nation accepting disciples from inside their realm. Thus,
I have to hide my true form. From being separated by thousands of li, to meeting here as
master and disciple, this is indeed fate.”
Fatty Zhang immediately shook his head and waved his hands, “We are not fated to each
other, it really is not fate.”
The old monk laughed and asked, “If this is not fate, then how are you able to hear my
unique Sanskrit? This is more than just being fated.”
“I don’t want to be a monk. I like eating meat and drinking alcohol. I like pretty women, I
still want to have a wife…” Fatty Zhang panicked as he backed away. He had never in his
entire life once thought of becoming a monk. It was too terrifying. He turned around to
run, and shouted violently, “Big Brother, help me!”
“Fool, there are countless people in this world who have long dreamed of becoming my
disciple.”
The old monk sighed. The golden cloud pattern embroidered on the black satin of his
collar suddenly came to life, moving like a snake. The cloud flew out from the robe and
circulated around the old monk rapidly, who stood with his palms together. It gradually
grew bigger until it became a huge, golden, phantom flood dragon, binding the old monk
and soaring up into the sky.
The flood dragon flew around, wriggling about and swooping downwards, chasing after
the frightened and fleeing Fatty Zhang. The dragon picked him up and flew back towards
the sky as if it were pleased with itself, before quickly disappearing into the horizon with
the both of them in tow…
Around the same time, Miao Yi led Lu Xuexin into the crowd and arrived at a richly
ornamented residence with a courtyard.
He actually couldn’t tell which clan was the best, or which clan was inferior. When he
arrived, he could see that quite a number of people had gathered around the residence.
Miao Yi overheard from the people around him that the red-clothed celestial maiden, who
had earlier stood on top of the city wall, was well-respected amongst immortals. She had
later flown into the building, causing everyone to come flocking there immediately.
An Immortal who could garner respect from all other Immortals, was naturally not an
ordinary one. Miao Yi regretted letting Fatty Zhang meet that Yellow-Robed Immortal,
otherwise both brother and sister would be able to take care of each other. But it was
already too late for regrets now.
The two siblings walked up the steps leading to the gate, but were stopped by the
Immortal standing guard.
Miao Yi quickly signaled to Little Lu to take out the sparkling red branches and gem
leaves. This high quality immortal herb instantly lit up the gatekeeping Immortal’s eyes.
Someone among the crowd shouted, “Isn’t that Zhang family’s eldest son and youngest
child? Did they acquire the immortal herb?”
Unlike the Yellow-Robed Immortal who was picky about his disciples, as soon as the
immortal herb was shown, someone immediately came over to take Little Lu into the
residence. However, they refused to let Miao Yi, who wanted to send her off, go in and
instead blocked him outside.
For his sister’s sake, Miao Yi bowed and smiled, “She is my sister, can I send her in and
have a few words with her?”
The gatekeeping Immortal extended his arms and blocked him with an expressionless
face. “Stand down!”
At the same time, Little Lu yelled from inside, “Big Brother, come in as well!”
The little fool still had not noticed that her brother had only two immortal herbs with him.
If it was the sneaky second brother, he would have immediately realized what was
happening by now.
Miao Yi quickly waved his hands, “Little Sister, you go on ahead, I’ll go and see if I can
find Second Brother.”
“Big Brother, I will wait for you!” Little Lu’s voice appeared diminished behind the
closing door, before she was taken away.
“Little Sister, please take care of yourself!”
Miao Yi tried his best to sound cheerful and laughed happily when he shouted from the
other side of the gate. He hoped that his laughter would be able to give his sister peace of
mind.
He turned around, facing a crowd who looked at him enviously. Miao Yi pursed his lips,
eyes red from almost crying, and maintained his smile. He walked down the steps with a
grin and proudly told everyone. “That’s my sister. She’s become an Immortal, along with
my brother too. Both my younger brother and sister have become Immortals.”
He was rarely a show off, but he couldn’t stand not letting everyone know about the good
news right now. He wanted those neighbors from the street to know that the orphan from
the Lu Family and the orphan from the Zhang Family would be spending the rest of their
lives with a happiness that was unattainable by a mortal.
But he missed the hidden sarcasm in the glances of the gatekeeping Immortal.
Some familiar faces from the same street pulled Miao Yi aside and asked, “Has little
Zhang also become an Immortal?”
Miao Yi nodded with a heavy heart.
A few more familiar faces butted in and asked, “So you went into the Boundless Secular
World and got the immortal herb?”
Miao Yi nodded again.
“How many did you pick up?”
Miao Yi proudly lifted up two fingers, “Two.”
One of them was shocked and said, “Only two? The eldest Zhang, did you not leave one
for yourself?”
Miao Yi patted on his chest and laughed. “No worries, the Boundless Secular World hasn’t
closed yet, right? There’s still a chance.”
Even though he said that, he would not go back inside again. Because once was enough
for him to understand how dangerous the place was, and it wasn’t as if he could meet
another person like Yan Beihong, who could help him avert disasters, every single time.
As one delved deeper, the environment became even crazier when it came to grabbing and
snatching treasure. Going back inside was no different than seeking for one’s doom. It was
sheer luck that he even managed to come out alive that time.
“Tsk tsk, Lu Family and Zhang family got lucky, they were able to adopt a good son. They
didn’t die for nothing!” one of them exclaimed with admiration.
Miao Yi grinned from ear to ear and accepted everyone’s congratulations, his face was
about to be paralyzed from smiling…
Inside the courtyard of the richly ornamented residence, Little Lu was led to the backyard
and stood on top of a rune-painted jade plate.
Three cultivators stood outside the jade plate and formed a triangle. At the same time, they
invoked an art and focused their transcendence energy onto the jade plate to assess her
aptitude for cultivation.
Only common people would think that they could become an Immortal simply by
obtaining treasures from the Boundless Secular World. They would not mind spending
some resources to train those who were qualified. But no one would waste their resources
on those with no aptitude. Those would be sent to do menial jobs.
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 12: As Prophesized (3)

The reason why Head Guard Huang’s daughter, who was sent to become an Immortal’s
handmaiden, hadn’t allowed her little brother to risk going inside the Boundless Secular
World, was because the Immortal that she had been trying to please had already checked
on her little brother and deemed him unsuitable for cultivation. So there was no need for
him to risk his life by going inside the Boundless Secular World. So what if he were able
to find the treasures? He’d be accepted and treated as a slave, being sent to do menial jobs.
It was better for him to become a rich mortal in the secular world.
Just like what the old monk had told Miao Yi, leaving an immortal herb for himself would
only bring him harm, because he could see that Miao Yi was unsuitable for cultivation.
It wasn’t as if he wanted the immortal herb, he only wanted to prevent Miao Yi from
coming to harm, so he had no choice but to accept the immortal herb from Fatty Zhang,
just to save Miao Yi from future regrets.
Just like Little Lu, if she had the aptitude, then the official document at the side would
immediately register her results and she would be returned to the gate after that. If she
didn’t have the aptitude, then there was no need make a registration, not even the name.
However, the results from the test shocked everyone standing witness. They could see a
phantom of a phoenix rising from the top of Little Lu’s head as she stood on the jade plate.
The phoenix soared around the sky above the residence.
Normal people were unable to see it, only cultivators who possessed the transcendence
vision could see it. At that very moment, all of the cultivators in the Ancient City were
looking towards its direction.
A lot of people were shocked and involuntarily exclaimed, “Phoenix form!”
In the world of cultivation, there was a phrase, ‘The Bearing of Dragon and Phoenix’, that
referred to the aptitude best suited for cultivation, which was considered a top-notch
aptitude. The dragon signified men, while the phoenix signified women. People with this
kind of natural endowment were only found by chance, and most of the time they were
highly sought after and fought over by the different sects.
All the cultivators at the scene found it hard to believe that they were able to meet
someone with the qualification of ‘phoenix form’ in a small place like this.
Fairy Hong Chen, who stood inside the loft, suddenly turned around, her eyes focusing on
Little Lu who was on the jade plate in the courtyard. She mumbled to herself in surprise,
“I see, the Oracle’s art of divining heavenly secrets is indeed worthy of his reputation!”
Little Lu looked around nervously, she wasn’t sure why everyone was looking at her in
that way.
The flash of a red shadow flew by. Fairy Hong Chen appeared in the courtyard, her dress
fluttered about as she strolled in.
All the cultivators earnestly lowered their heads and moved to the sidelines at her sudden
appearance.
The elder leading the group twitched, as he sighed discreetly. With Fairy Hong Chen here,
there was no way he could keep the little girl for himself. It was clear that the little girl
was not fated to be in his sect. D*mn! What was the high and mighty Fairy Hong Chen
doing here, instead of quietly staying put at the Realm Beyond Heaven?
Fairy Hong Chen slowly approached the jade plate and looked at the timid Lu Xuexin. She
revealed a smile, extended her slender arms, and said in a distinct voice, “Don’t be scared,
won’t you come with Big Sister?”
Not many were fortunate enough to see her smile.
With both of them being so near to each other, Little Lu was able to clearly see Fairy
Hong Chen’s face. She had never seen such a beautiful Big Sister in her entire life.
Little Lu’s mind went blank the moment Fairy Hong Chen showed her charm. Under her
extraordinary charisma, Lu Xuexin found herself unable to refuse her wishes, and
subconsciously nodded her head in confusion.
As soon as the little girl agreed, Fairy Hong Chen smiled sweetly and grabbed her by her
tiny hand.
In an instant, a two-metre-long sash of red silk flew up into the air, followed by her golden
hairpin and all three of her golden bracelets, simultaneously turning into a phantom of a
golden phoenix. The phantom whisked both of them away and soared into the sky. It was
almost as if they vanished from the crowd in the blink of an eye.
Only Fairy Hong Chen’s faint aroma of orchids remained in the courtyard. The elder man
stomped his feet and sighed. “What a waste! She came of her own will!”
The other commoners outside the courtyard did not see Fairy Hong Chen leaving. Of
course, Miao Yi did not get the chance to see her either. He was still worried about Fatty
Zhang, so he ran back to check the building again and pushed the door open.
As before, there was still no sight of anyone inside.
“Looks like Little Brother really has been taken away by the Immortal.”
After he left the building, Miao Yi once again returned to the place where he had sent
Little Lu away. He went around searching for information about the Immortals inside, but
how would most ordinary mortals even know?
Fatty Zhang had already been taken away, but Miao Yi still wished to personally send his
little sister off to become an Immortal. He spent the remaining days waiting inside the
Ancient City, waiting for the day when Little Lu would leave the sect.
But his public announcements from before once again resurfaced. The news about him
sending his little brother and little sister to become Immortals had been spread around.
Finally, Head Guard Huang, who had been waiting eagerly to skin Miao Yi alive, had
blocked his way out in the Ancient City. He looked very unhappy. Meanwhile, Zhao
Xingwu who had escaped death, was still in a state of shock. After all, he had witnessed
Miao Yi’s violence with his very own eyes. He saw him stab Huang Cheng and his big
brother to death with a butcher knife.
Immortals from all over the world were still gathering in the Ancient City, so Head Guard
Huang did not have the guts to do anything to Miao Yi yet. Although in the beginning,
when he lost his temper and wanted to slaughter Miao Yi, his henchmen quickly held him
back so he could cool down.
Miao Yi decided he could not stay there for long. He wanted to escape the city as soon as
possible, but he discovered that the four city gates were already being guarded by Head
Guard Huang’s henchmen. He reckoned that as soon as he dared to step outside, someone
would immediately follow him out to kill him.
And even if he wanted to, he couldn’t escape by climbing over the city wall because their
exits were also being closely guarded. At all times two men followed him around, day and
night without fail.
Head Guard Huang had meticulously made preparations to prevent Miao Yi from
escaping. It was obvious that he was planning to keep Miao Yi within the city and wait
until the Immortals left before he could kill him.
In the end, Miao Yi could only hide around places near the gate where he had sent Little
Lu. He hoped that when his little sister, who was about to step onto the path of Immortals,
came out, she would be allowed to greet her big brother.
It may be pointless, but right now, he could only hope and try his luck.
When it was two days away from the closing of the Boundless Secular World, there was
an unexpected surprise waiting for Miao Yi.
Yan Beihong, who now had two additional bandages on him, appeared before Miao Yi. He
had also come back alive in one piece.
Apparently, he had also heard about Fairy Hong Chen. His appearance was unkempt, and
he strode past carrying a broadsword at his waist.
“Big Brother Yan, Big Brother Yan.”
The overjoyed Miao Yi hid in a small alley corner and called out for him twice.
Yan Beihong was stunned when he heard the voice. It sounded familiar, so he turned
around. He was quite surprised to see that it was Miao Yi. He quickly entered the small
alley, and said in amazement, “You came back alive? That’s weird, how did you get here
before me?”
“It’s hard to explain…” Miao Yi told him the whole story of what happened after Yan
Beihong left him. But he remembered the warning from the handsome man, Lao Bai, so
he didn’t tell him about the huge qin.
“You were thrown out by the Hell Mantis? Such a lucky thing really happened?” Yan
Beihong was shocked, but if he thought about it further, it was entirely possible.
Otherwise, this kid would not be able to return earlier than him. He stroked his chin and
clicked his tongue. “D*mn it, I struggled my way through and almost lost my life crawling
out from that place. Lucky you, you just unknowingly flew out like you were in a dream.
No wonder you came out faster than I did. If I had known earlier, I would have gone with
you.”
“Big Brother Yan, I’ve come across some trouble…” Miao Yi told him again about how
he was intercepted by Head Guard Huang after his younger siblings were sent off to
become Immortals.
Yan Beihong was surprised. “You gave them to your little brother and little sister, and
didn’t leave one for yourself?”
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 13: Escape

Miao Yi smiled bitterly. “I only managed to get two of them.”

Yan Beihong could not help but feel deep respect towards Miao Yi. When they parted
ways, he thought of him as a person with impure intentions. He left in disdain because he
thought Miao Yi was playing a petty trick on him. But now, he realized that he had been
measuring the stature of a great man by the yardstick of a smaller man. If he himself were
to be placed in a similar situation, he wouldn’t have been able to do what Miao Yi did—
give everything he had painstakingly acquired to his little brother and sister, who weren’t
even related to him by blood.
He patted Miao Yi’s shoulders and said, “Brother, I have nothing to say, I am very sorry!”
Miao Yi shook his head and said, “Don’t say that, Big Brother Yan. I just want to ask a
favor from you. Do you have any clue on how to avoid being captured by the guardsmen?
Any idea to help me get away from this mess?”
Yan Beihong chuckled and tugged his arm, “Just leave it to me. Let’s go find a place to eat
and drink first.”
Miao Yi immediately stopped to remind him, “Someone is following me.”
“They’re just small fry, nothing to be afraid of!” Yan Beihong dragged him away. “Let’s
eat and drink to our heart’s content and fill up our energy. I will send you off tonight!”
They found a noodle stand that had just opened for business and then ordered a few jin of
beef with two bowls of noodles. They ate until they were both full, belching when done.
Once again, Yan Beihong took away with him a large amount of food, and then they left in
search of an unoccupied residence. He unhitched the door open and placed it on the floor.
After that, he laid down on the door and slept.
They whiled the time away until nightfall, then left. To get rid of the people following
after them, Yan Beihong picked up Miao Yi and swiftly climbed over the wall. By taking a
detour, they were able to shake off their stalkers soon enough.
Hiding near the shadows under the city wall, Yan Beihong observed the patterns of the
patrols above it. Being a former Military Commander, he had his fair share of experience.
After he had grasped the situation, he took the first opportunity that came and threw a
basic grappling hook that he had prepared in advance over the city wall. With one hand
holding a rope, he proceeded to climb, pedaling against the wall with Miao Yi in tow.
They quickly reached the top of the high city wall and then immediately slid downwards
to the other side.
They sneaked away under the cover of darkness, only stopping after they reached the
mountain forest located seven or eight miles away
Using the moon as a source of light, Yan Beihong pushed a bag of rations he had earlier
prepared into Miao Yi’s arms.
“Big Brother Yan, this is…?” Miao Yi held the bag in confusion.
“Brother, it’s easy to escape, but difficult to return should you choose to come back home
in future. Since you’re now free from any attachments, it’s alright if you don’t return to
your house. If you go back, you will surely fall into the hands of Head Guard Huang
anyway. I know it’s a difficult decision to leave your home, which is why I chose not to
say anything before this so you wouldn’t suffer from heartache. These rations will last you
for awhile on your journey. Now go. Go as far as you can.”
Yan Beihong turned around and pointed to the other side, “The grappling hook on the city
wall will serve as a clue in the end. So just in case, you should go the opposite direction.
This is all I can do. Whether this will all be a curse or a blessing, it is beyond my control.
The rest will be up to your luck.”
“Thank you Big Brother Yan, but I have one more favor to ask of you!”
“Just say it, I will help if I can.”
“My little sister is inside the School of Immortals that you wanted to join today. Her name
is Lu Xuexin. Big Brother Yan, she is still young, so if she ends up in your care in future, I
hope you can keep an eye on her for me.”
“Lu Xuexin…” Yan Beihong muttered a few times, then nodded heavily. “I will remember
that. After today’s farewell, I hope we will meet each other again. I won’t hem and haw
like a girl, as I can’t delay my own duties any longer. I will take my leave first, please look
after yourself.”
He was indeed not an indecisive person. Yan Beihong had said what he needed to say and
did what was needed to be done. He gave Miao Yi’s shoulder a pat before he turned
around and strode away without any hesitation.
Miao Yi watched as Yan Beihong slowly disappeared into the darkness. He lifted his head
and looked at the Ancient City, a complicated look on his face.
When he put himself at risk by entering the Boundless Secular World, at that time he
thought he was making the worst decision of his life. But after being lucky enough to
return, it was now beyond his expectations to be put on this solitary path. From now on, he
had to leave his home and seek refuge alone.
He turned around and after finding the bearings of his house, Miao Yi immediately knelt
down and cried, “Father Lu and Mother Lu, Father Zhang and Mother Zhang, Little
Brother and Bittle Sister has ascended to immortality. They shall not suffer with me from
now on. Please bless and protect them from the heavens.”
After he finished, he bent his head downwards and kowtowed.
The dark green bead around his neck glowed weakly. The qin-playing scholar from the
Boundless Secular World appeared behind him in perfect silence. His appearance was still
as unusual and striking as before, silently watching Miao Yi kowtowed on the ground.
Miao Yi wiped away his tears after he was done. He stood up and unsheathed the butcher
knife resting at his waist, as he considered his next course of action. With the knife in his
hand, he quickly left in the direction that Yan Beihong had pointed out for him.
The scholar raised his head and glanced at the bright moon before he quietly disappeared
under the moonlight…
From dusk until dawn, Miao Yi passed through the lofty mountains and high ranges
without knowing how far he ran. He followed the sunrise and eventually came out from
the mountains, only to be blocked by a wide river. Miao Yi could guess how far he had
gone when he saw the river.
He was very exhausted and knelt on the riverside, washing his face to refresh himself. He
sat on a boulder near the river, taking out the rations that Yan Beihong had prepared for
him. He ate a few bites and reached for the goatskin flask strapped to his waist, taking a
few swigs of water after removing the cap.
While he was eating, he pondered on how to cross the river, and where to go next. Just
then, he saw a canoe floating downstream, more of a bamboo raft to be exact.
A man rode on the bamboo raft, wearing a white robe with a plain, pale-green cape, a
bamboo stick held in his hand.
The river kept flowing, and his newly created bamboo stick was green and glossy. The
scholar stood on the bamboo raft and faced the morning breeze with his sleeves fluttering
about. It was an otherworldly sight that was very pleasing to the eye.
Miao Yi, who was chewing his rations, suddenly opened his mouth wide in shock. How
could it be him? Wasn’t this the mysophobic guy from the Boundless Secular World?
“Lao Bai, Lao Bai!” Miao Yi jumped up and waved as he shouted, “Here, here, do you
still recognize me?”
The scholar looked towards the direction of the voice. He smiled, rowing his bamboo raft
towards the shore with the bamboo stick. When the raft stopped and stabilized, he looked
at Miao Yi, who was in a sorry state, and smiled, “It’s you, Little Brother. So, we meet
again. Where are you heading to, in these barren mountains and wastelands?”
Miao Yi asked, “Where were you planning to go?”
The scholar looked at the flowing river and smiled gently, “With just a raft flowing down
the stream, I came for some sightseeing. There is no specific place to go, I will go
wherever I am led to.”
This mentality, this demeanor, all of it was frustrating to him. Miao Yi noticed that
whenever he saw this man, he always seemed to be at peace. Even in that dangerous place,
he also appeared to be calm, and would always be cleanly and plainly dressed.
Miao Yi rubbed his hands, feeling a bit embarrassed. “Since we are on the same path, I
don’t suppose…”
It was obvious that he was wondering if he could ride on Lao Bai’s raft.
The scholar understood and nodded his head. “It is better to have a companion along the
journey. If you don’t mind my shabby bamboo raft, let’s travel together.”
“It’s not shabby, not at all. This is my first time seeing such a beautiful raft.” Miao Yi
jumped onto the raft happily.
He wasn’t trying to flatter him when he said that; the bamboo raft was indeed crafted
skillfully. There was even a bamboo-woven dome in the middle of the raft to provide
shelter from the sun and rain.
Using the bamboo stick, the scholar pushed the raft away from the shore. The bamboo raft
drifted the two of them along the river, going downstream once again.
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 14: Arts Mustn’t Be Easily Taught

It was easier than walking now. After spending the whole night going through the
mountain, Miao Yi slumped down on the bamboo raft and let out a long sigh of relief. As
he relaxed, he realized that sailing on this river actually had an enticing feeling.
The scholar removed the bamboo pole from the water, causing some water to splash. The
scholar would only row with the bamboo pole to adjust the direction when the bamboo raft
deviated slightly off-course. However, the raft seemed to move quite smoothly along with
the wind and waters, and thus deviations rarely happened which made for a very relaxing
ride.
Miao Yi did feel slightly tired. He admired the mountain scenery on both sides, too lazy to
even move.
Holding the bamboo pole, the scholar stood against the wind. Without turning his head, he
asked, “Did Little Brother happen to gather the two immortal herbs?”
“Yes,” Miao Yi replied. “I did.”
The scholar continued asking, “Since you have those immortal herbs, why haven’t you
knocked open the doors of the School of Immortals, instead of strolling about in this
place?”
“It’s hard to explain in a few words.” Miao Yi did not want to talk about it anymore. He
changed the topic and recalling the weird incident from before, asked, “I just don’t
understand one thing. The two immortal herbs were right before your eyes, so why didn’t
you pick it? Do you really have no desire for that kind of thing?”
The scholar chuckled. “I have served a Great Immortal. I have seen the things that
Immortals do, and I am already tired of their matters. Thus, I have no interest in becoming
an Immortal.”
Miao Yi asked in shock, “You were the servant of an Immortal?”
The scholar asked back, “You don’t believe me?”
“No, I do.” Miao Yi shook his head, as he felt there was no need for the scholar to lie
about these things. Also, it did explain why this fellow had no interest in immortal herbs.
If the scholar had said it was because he didn’t want to dirty his clothes, Miao Yi wouldn’t
have believed him.
As he scrutinized the scholar before his eyes once more, he realized why he always felt
that this fellow had an extraordinary aura. It was because he had spent time with an
Immortal and had already partaken the aura of the Immortals.
However, Miao Yi still felt slightly dubious. “Since you aren’t interested, why did you
venture into the Boundless Secular World?”
With the wind blowing against him, the scholar replied, “Humans have a lifespan of less
than a hundred years. I was already lucky enough to get this chance, which only happens
once in a thousand years. And since I was given the chance, wouldn’t I feel regret if I
didn’t at least go in and check the place out?
Miao Yi was speechless. Seeing the scholar’s outlook on life, it was no wonder that he
would choose to sail alone on these mountain rivers, unworldly like a floating cloud or
wild crane.
However, Miao Yi kept thinking how unusual it was to venture into that life-risking place
just to check it out. He couldn’t help but ask, “You have no interest in the immortal herb…
Could it be that you wanted to find some treasures left behind during the Great War of
Immortals and Devil?”
“Great War of Immortals and Devil?” The scholar asked curiously, “What war is that?”
Miao Yi replied with astonishment, “Don’t tell me you don’t know that the Boundless
Secular World is the result of that war? A hundred thousand years ago, a hundred thousand
celestial troops and generals traveled far across the Heavens, giving chase to the Great
Devil, with the sole intent to kill. In the midst of their pursuit, they eventually arrived at
this location. Unfortunately, the Great Devil was too strong, leaving the celestial troops
and generals no choice but to finally lay out the Ultimate Deathly Strike Formation. With
this last move, they altogether perished, taking the Great Devil with them. You’ve never
heard of it before?”
The white hair drooping down from the scholar’s temples fluttered along with the wind.
“Oh.” The scholar still spoke with his back facing Miao Yi, “I have heard about it. It’s just
something that happened a hundred thousand years ago. Who has seen it before? Maybe
the truth was just the opposite. Maybe it was one hundred thousand Devils pursuing one
good man, and the good man killed all the Devils in this Boundless Secular World in the
end.”
Miao Yi laughed. “Anyway, the legend has always been like that and everyone has always
said it as such.”
The scholar replied, “Humans are ignorant and often tell lies. How can one believe the
rumors so easily? Little Brother, if someone were to one day say that I am a Great Devil,
would you believe it?”
Miao Yi smiled and said, “Of course not. You’re someone that stands detached from
worldly success. You’re not even interested in becoming an Immortal, so how could you
be a Great Devil? In any case… you really don’t want to be an Immortal? As an Immortal,
wouldn’t it be easier for you to explore the hills and rivers?”
“No!” The scholar shook his head and said, “If I wanted to be an Immortal, there would be
no need to venture into the Boundless Secular World. The Great Immortal I served passed
on a Celestial Art for me to cultivate should I ever decide to ascend to immortality.”
Hearing this, Miao Yi could no longer smile. His expression froze for a while and he
asked weakly, “An Immortal entrusted you with a Celestial Art?”
The scholar said disapprovingly, “You are interested? If you want, I can just pass it on to
you.”
Miao Yi immediately jumped up, asking with immense joy, “Really?”
The scholar looked back at Miao Yi and said with a smile, “Really.”
Miao Yi was so excited that he didn’t know what to say. If he could receive something so
fortunate, then he might be able to continue caring for his younger siblings after becoming
an Immortal.
Rubbing his hands in excitement, Miao Yi said shyly, “I’ve never seen what an Immortal’s
Celestial Art is like. Can I see it?”
Miao Yi was afraid that the scholar was kidding and wanted to confirm his offer.
The scholar shook his head and said, “I do not have that Celestial Art with me now. The
Great Immortal I served lived at the Celestial Mountain overseas. After the Great
Immortal ascended the heavens, I had no interest in the Celestial Art that was given to me.
Therefore, I left it at the abode of Immortals, the place where the Great Immortal used to
cultivate. Since then, I’ve never taken it out. If you want, I can take you there to retrieve
it.”
Miao Yi was shocked as he asked hesitantly, “That Great Immortal died? Aren’t Immortals
supposed to live forever?”
The scholar smiled and said, “Live forever? That’s just false information spread around by
the people of this world. Not all Immortals can live forever. It’s just that the higher your
cultivation level, the longer the lifespan.”
“I see……”
As they moved rapidly along the flow of the river, the two kept on talking. The scholar
always spoke in a calm and casual manner, while Miao Yi asked many questions.
After chatting, Miao Yi realized that the scholar was certainly someone that had spent a
long time in the company of an Immortal, he knew a great many things about them. It
made Miao Yi feel extremely excited, to realize the enormity of what had fallen into his
lap. Because the scholar had no interest in becoming an Immortal, he agreed to give Miao
Yi the Celestial Art. If it had been anyone else, the outcome wouldn’t have been as
favorable…..
From sunrise to sunset, Miao Yi’s excitement was eventually replaced with tiredness.
Finally, he could endure it no longer.
Since venturing into the Boundless Secular World, he hadn’t the time to really rest,
especially after traveling through the mountains the whole of last night. Enduring until
sunset, Miao Yi finally collapsed and slept soundly.
The bamboo pole was left stuck on the bow of the raft. The bamboo raft moved along with
the flow, without any need to adjust the direction.
“Arts mustn’t be easily taught. If you were a heartless person, you would have no right to
my Supreme Great Arts! I would rather wait a hundred thousand more years! If you were
heartless, how then could I trust that you’d kill the Nine Heavens, rebuke the stars, and
grant me justice one day!” With his hands clasped behind his back, the scholar gazed at
the stars. He slowly turned around to look at Miao Yi, who was sleeping soundly. He then
said calmly, “Good! You are not a heartless person that can forsake kindness for riches. I
hope you won’t fail me!”
In actuality, the scholar had been watching him since destroying the three immortal herbs,
leaving two for Miao Yi.
Without hesitation, Miao Yi gave his two chances away to his brother and sister. The
scholar had seen everything.
If Miao Yi had not passed this test, the scholar wouldn’t have crossed paths with him at
the riverside on his bamboo raft. Miao Yi would never have seen the scholar again for the
rest of his life.
“Unfortunately, your innate endowment is too weak. It’s just not suitable for cultivation.
There’s still a need to shed your mortal body, refine your bones, and remold you
thoroughly!”
The scholar muttered and stretched out his hand. He opened his palm and the dark green
beads on Miao Yi’s neck flashed a faint light. A Glorious Star immortal herb, one chi in
length, shot out of the beads and descended atop the scholar’s palm.
The floating starlights affixed themselves around the nine red stone branches and nine
gem leaves.
This immortal herb looked different from the two that Miao Yi had picked. Not only was
the root two-fold in size, there were also ruby-like fruits that hung on the nine branches.
The nine red crystal fruits gave off a hidden fragrance.
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 15: Heart Facing the Blue Sea (1)

All of a sudden, two red dots of light rose out from within the mountain from both banks,
seemingly locked on to the Glorious Star immortal herb the scholar held in his hand. The
two red lights moved along the shoreside, chasing and trailing the bamboo raft floating
ahead along the waves.
Swish! A large serpent, as thick as a water pail, sprung out brazenly from the banks, its
eyes emitting twin points of red light. It seemed very close to achieving the state of
becoming a demon spirit. The serpent opened its mouth and lunged towards the Glorious
Star immortal herb levitating on the scholar’s palm.
The scholar didn’t even bother sparing a glance. With a mere wave of his hand, the serpent
immediately froze in midair, unable to move another inch.
The scholar flung out his arm in one swipe, causing the serpent to drop and come crashing
down into the waters. It then swam to the front of the raft, trembling with fear as it hooked
its tail onto the edges. It began to wriggle its body forward and pulled the bamboo raft
along, becoming a good source of labor. It did not require anyone to control it anymore.
The serpent, which had almost attained the state of a demonic spirit, hastened its speed,
breaking through the waves as it dragged the bamboo raft onwards.
“This ninety-nine thousand years old Glorious Star is enough to help you shed your mortal
body and refine your bones…”
As soon as he finished, he opened his mouth and lightly blew air upon the levitating
immortal herb. Starlights adhering to the red stone branches and gem leaves immediately
gathered together to form a delicate cloud of stars, seeping into Miao Yi’s nostrils.
Not long after, an expression of pain surfaced on Miao Yi’s face, as though he was caught
up in a nightmare and unable to wake up from it. Curling black smoke began to flow from
every pore of his body, giving out a horrible odor. It was fortunate that the bamboo raft
was moving ahead at full speed, so the wind blowing against them was able to carry the
smell away.
After the starlights on the immortal herb had completely dissolved, specks of starlight
emerged once more from the branches, then the leaves and fruits not long after, kept
within an arm’s length.
The scholar blew once more, and the starlights were swept into a cloud of stars, entering
Miao Yi’s nostrils once again.
Three days and three nights passed under this form of repetition. The light particles
emerging from the immortal herb gradually shrank and darkened in color. The entire
immortal herb slowly withered and faded away. Even the nine red, ruby-like fruits had
also dried up and turned unsightly after being drained of its essence.
And Miao Yi’s body was constantly oozing out a mass of impurities from his pores, its
appearance akin to black mud. His entire self looked as though he had crawled out from a
pool of mud, emitting a stench so foul the scholar threw him into the river to clean him
up…
The weeping sound of monkeys constantly echoed from both shores, as the boat lightly
floated past innumerable mountains. Up ahead, the river widened, and the sight of the
magnificent sea could be seen. Miao Yi was still sleeping soundly, the flesh on his entire
body had turned white and delicate, giving him the appearance of a sleeping infant.
The serpent pulling the raft at full speed let go of its tail, and the scholar then flung the
withering Glorious Star immortal herb into the air. The serpent opened its mouth, catching
and swallowing it in one gulp. Relaxed, it directed a sound that resembled a jeer at the
scholar, before turning and swiftly disappearing into the depths of the waters.
The white hair drooping from the scholar’s temples fluttered along with his cloak, as he
walked towards the front of the boat to directly face the sea. Beneath him, the bamboo raft
suddenly travelled a hundred zhang further, soon flying across the vast sea at an
unbelievable speed.
After half a day had passed, the bamboo raft finally grounded itself on the shore of an
unknown island. The waves rolled and foamed. And Miao Yi remained in a deep sleep.
The scholar let out a look of fatigue, seemingly overwhelmed. For a moment, his entire
body became blurred like a mirage, before transforming into a ray of white light. The light
entered the dark green beads worn around Miao Yi’s neck to recuperate…
The tides rose and fell.
When Miao Yi woke up, the scholar brought him to a sealed abode of the Immortals
located at the mountain and presented to him a jade archive piece which had the Celestial
Art recorded on it.
With a face full of excitement, Miao Yi stretched out his hands to receive it, but the
scholar waved his hand and retracted it back, asking solemnly, “Do you really want to
cultivate the Celestial Art?”
“I want to!” Miao Yi nodded his head repeatedly.
“Do you know why I don’t want to cultivate?”
“….You’re not interested?” Miao Yi remembered that the scholar had said this before.
“Not being interested is just one part of it.” The scholar’s gaze appeared placid as he said,
“There is something I need to mention to you. When the Great Immortal was teaching me
the Celestial Art, he told me that once you have ventured onto this path, there is no turning
back. It is a path filled with blood and massacres, of suffering and betrayal. The further
you walk down this path, the more resentment you’ll have to bear. There is only one way
for you to be free and that is to always walk forward, never turning back. You can only
leave everything behind you once you have truly stood at the summit. And by that time,
you will probably be left with nothing but loneliness… It is for this exact reason that I do
not wish to cultivate the Celestial Art.”
Miao Yi felt doubtful. What the scholar had said was somewhat different from the
cultivation he had in mind.
The scholar asked, “Now, do you still want to cultivate this Celestial Art?”
Thinking about his younger siblings who were already walking down this path, Miao Yi
nodded his head without any hesitation.
“You really will not regret this?”
Miao Yi shook his head.
Thus, the scholar handed over the jade archive to him. Miao Yi was eager to look through
it, but soon after he raised his head meekly. He’d had little schooling, so already he didn’t
recognize a few of the characters in the opening segment.
He couldn’t be blamed for this, since from a young age, he’d had to bear the responsibility
of supporting his family. As a result, he didn’t have the time to study, and his younger
siblings ended up more educated than him.
The scholar went speechless after hearing his explanation…
The years they spent within the mountain, they remained unaware of the flourishing
world. Time flew upon the blue sea, the days swiftly passing by.
The first step of cultivation involved the scholar teaching Miao Yi how to read. He had no
choice but to teach him.
The cultivation method the Great Immortal left behind was known as the Fiery Star
Technique. Miao Yi wasn’t able to understand it, and even if he were to exchange places
with another, they wouldn’t be able to understand it too. Again, the scholar was the one to
teach him the way, one step at a time.
Miao Yi discovered that Lao Bai was very knowledgeable. It was little wonder he had
stayed by the Great Immortal’s side. He could just consult with him to dispel any doubts
regarding a lot of topics.
There were times when Miao Yi felt regret that a man like Lao Bai did not wish to
cultivate.
Learning cultivation from the beginning was exceptionally dry and dull. Miao Yi had to
follow the cultivation technique to circulate the qi, sensing the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and
Earth so he could absorb it after that.
After a few months where nothing happened, anyone would begin to feel slightly
frustrated.
Miao Yi couldn’t help but ask for help, “Lao Bai, what on earth is Spiritual Qi of Heaven
and Earth? Why can’t I sense it yet?”
Lao Bai said, “Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth is just a narrow way of saying it. To put it
broadly, the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth is the Essence of Sun and Moon. I’m sure
you must have heard of the Essence of Sun and Moon before?”
Miao Yi nodded and said, “I’ve heard of it before.”
Lao Bai replied, “Then tell me, what is the Essence of Sun and Moon?”
“This…” Speechless, Miao Yi was unable to answer.
Lao Bai asked, “Sun and the moon, you do know what those are, right?”
Miao Yi nodded his head and replied, “The sun and moon in the sky.”
Lao Bai nodded his head and said, “The sun and the moon, including the earth under your
feet are merely three tiny celestial bodies. Numerous amounts of these tiny celestial bodies
formed the vast ocean of stars in the night sky. Thus, the Essence of Sun and Moon is the
omnipotent energy of the stars. To comprehend the absorption of the Spiritual Qi of
Heaven and Earth, is to comprehend the absorption of the omnipotent energy of the stars.
This omnipotent energy is not formless. The rise and fall of the tides, the growth and
decay experienced by all the living beings you see with your own eyes; they are all
influenced by the sun, moon and stars, which in turn are also influenced by the omnipotent
energy of the stars. Its formidable force can clearly be observed. Absorbing the Spiritual
Qi of Heaven and Earth is to seize the omnipotent energy of the stars, changing all living
beings for own use. By the time it becomes your strength and when you’re capable of fully
controlling it, not only can you utilize it to strengthen yourself, you can even utilize it to
influence others. That is transcendence energy. Use your heart to comprehend it!”
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 16: Heart Facing The Blue Sea (2)

After listening to his lucid explanation, Miao Yi finally understood. He began to

comprehend with his heart, immersing his body and mind into this world. During a tidal
change, Miao Yi finally felt the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth.
Besides the daily meditation and cultivation, Lao Bai also made Miao Yi exercise
continuously.
For example, he was ordered to create a trench, intercepting a river’s flow and thereby
creating a waterfall on the mountain.
Lao Bai said that the scenery would look better with a waterfall on the mountain.
This was a huge amount of work. After suffering terribly for his efforts, Miao Yi could
only think that this was a useless task.
Miao Yi seized the chance to ask, “Lao Bai, don’t you think that doing such strenuous
work is just a waste of time? I think I should be using all the time I have to cultivate and
gather enough Spiritual Qi as quickly as possible to cultivate the first wave of
transcendence energy.”
Lao Bai shook his head and said, “Your cultivation has not yet reached the level where
you’re able to ignore the fundamental body. What if one day in the future, you couldn’t
use your transcendence energy because of an accident? By then, your neglected body
wouldn’t even be able to walk without transcendence energy and even an ordinary woman
could kill you. Wouldn’t that be pathetic? At this stage of your cultivation, strengthening
the body is equivalent to strengthening the Essence, Qi and Spirit, thus, maintaining a
healthy state of these elements can only be beneficial. Even if someone were to meditate
every day, if his spirit is weak, he would only get half the results with twice the effort.
Would that be preferable to the alternative; getting twice the results with half the effort?
Most importantly, with a strong body full of Essence, Qi and Spirit, you would not easily
fear an enemy encounter holding a powerful aura. This is very important to a beginner!”
In any case, whatever Lao Bai said seemed to make sense. It was as if whatever Lao Bai
wanted Miao Yi to do had a reason behind it and therefore, Miao Yi could only continue in
earnest.
A year later, a waterfall appeared on the mountain, a splashing, silver dragon. Carrying a
stick, Miao Yi wrenched out the last big rock and placed it in the waters. He then climbed
onto the shore from within the torrents, the fierceness of the water currents almost pushing
him down. Some way or another, he had finally constructed the waterfall that Lao Bai
wanted.
Lao Bai had gone sightseeing again. Thus, he did not see the result of Miao Yi’s work at
the time it was fully completed.
During the third day after the waterfall was constructed, a barefooted and half-naked Miao
Yi sat cross-legged on a reef beside the sea. The sea breeze blew by as he meditated with
his eyes closed. His chest, palms and soles faced the heavens as he gathered the True Fire
of Supreme Yang. This was a necessary process for his cultivation of the Fiery Star
Technique.
The past year spent in labor was not in vain. Miao Yi appeared a lot more mature, and his
body was covered with hard muscles. His skin color had turned slightly tanned from his
time under the sun.
According to Lao Bai, Miao Yi was tanned because he wasn’t able to absorb, use, and
control the True Fire of Supreme Yang in its entirety.
However, after many months and days, Miao Yi still managed to absorb an abundant
amount of True Fire of Supreme Yang within his body.
At this moment, with the Spiritual Qi he had absorbed, there was already an adequate
amount of True Fire of Supreme Yang in the meridians of his body that he could utilize.
As long as he was able to fuse the Spiritual Qi, which is the omnipotent energy of the
stars, with his cultivation method and thus control this energy, he would be able to create
his first wave of transcendence energy, the sole source of his arts. After that, he would no
longer need to exert time and effort fusing the Spiritual Qi and his cultivation method in
future. The energy of the stars he absorbed could fuse directly with his cultivation
methods. Therefore, this step was important.
“What is transcendence energy? What is art? And what is energy? Art comes from the
cultivation method you have cultivated and is also the means for control. The energy is the
power you control, also known as the omnipotent energy of the stars. To have arts and no
energy, you will have the will but no power. To have energy and no arts, you’re no
different than a dead man. It doesn’t matter how strong the energy, it will be useless to
you. Only when arts and energy are merged into one, then it will become transcendence
energy. Those with profound transcendence energy can change the positions of the stars;
they’re able to do anything!”
That was how Lao Bai explained to Miao Yi about the true meaning of transcendence
energy, and this was also what Miao Yi was working hard for.
As the blazing sun hung high up the sky, a thunder-like boom sounded within Miao Yi’s
body. The energy of the stars had finally fused with the True Fire of Supreme Yang,
forming a shapeless force which puffed out of Miao Yi’s pores.
Miao Yi suddenly opened his eyes, and a glowing budding white lotus appeared between
his brows.
To a cultivator, the area between the brows is called a spiritual point and shows their level
of cultivation. It is a reflection of the heart, which is similar to the saying ‘the outward
appearance stems from the heart’. For cultivators, the appearance relates to the
transcendence energy and the heart represents the cultivation.
Even the people of the world would get their fortune told by looking at the area between
the brows. For example, if the area has blackened, it means that the person has bad luck,
or if the area glows with brightness, it means that the person has good luck.
Through the excitement, Miao Yi stood up and clenched his fists. The transcendence
energy surrounding him gave him a feeling of omnipotence.
He poked the surface of the sea and in the next moment, a crystal-clear water dragon burst
out from its depths. It was one zhang in length and as thick as an arm.
Miao Yi held up two fingers in front of him and as his transcendence energy moved
alongside his mind’s will, the water dragon immediately flew closer and danced around
him.
Keeping his transcendence energy together, Miao Yi clenched his fist and thrust it
downwards at the sand. The water dragon immediately transformed into a ball of water,
rapidly rushing towards the sand.
Boom!
The mixture of water and sand splattered, and the ball of water left a large hole on the
shore.
“Lao Bai, Lao Bai, I succeeded! I can exert the transcendence energy!”
Miao Yi jumped down the reef and dashed away, repeatedly shouting in excitement.
He returned to that simple-looking abode of Immortals where he saw Lao Bai lying on a
rocking chair. Miao Yi immediately pulled Lao Bai up.
“What are you doing?” Lao Bai asked as he scrutinized Miao Yi.
“Look!” Miao Yi, who was already able to use the Inner Sight, knew that when he exerted
his transcendence energy, something would appear on the center of his brows.
After the glowing image of a budding, white lotus flower appeared, Miao Yi stretched out
his hand to point at a nearby torch and shouted, “Fire!”
With a “Boom” sound, the torch was instantly ablaze. This was the best trick he knew
relating to his fire techniques.
Miao Yi looked at Lao Bai with anticipation, hoping for praise.
However, who would have thought that Lao Bai would reply with a calm face, “Just
lighting a fire excites you to this point? The Great Immortal that once lived here could
move mountains and seas by just the wave of his hand. And it’s just a budding, white lotus
between your brows. It means that your foundation is not yet stable and you have only just
crossed the threshold. You haven’t even reached the first grade of White Lotus.”
Miao Yi smiled and said, “I know.” His face still showed that he was feeling very happy.
Lao Bai shook his head and left the abode of Immortals as he said, “Follow me.”
He led Miao Yi to the waterfall that he constructed and stood below the waterfall. As the
water rumbled, they felt the mist brushing their faces.
“What?” Miao Yi asked puzzledly.
Lao Bai pointed at the place where the waterfall made contact and said, “Try exerting your
transcendence energy there and see how long you can endure.”
Miao Yi nodded. He wanted to try out the transcendence energy that he had just cultivated.
Without saying a word, he ran barefoot and dived into the rapid waters below the
waterfall. He then sat on a huge rock beneath the waterfall and exerted transcendence
energy to protect his body, forcefully defending against its continuous, heavy force of
impact.
However, within less than four hours, the transcendence energy that Miao Yi condensed
could no longer withstand the crushing force. As soon as his transcendence energy was
used up, Miao Yi was immediately hit and pushed away by the rumbling and strong
torrent.
One should not belittle his time of less than four hours. If it were an ordinary person, they
wouldn’t even be able to endure it for that long. Walking into the waterfall would have
already been a problem for them, let alone enduring for about four hours.
“This fellow is quite useful. It’s just that the current of the waterfall he dug out was a little
too strong…” Lao Bai mumbled, glancing at the waterfall.
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 17: Heart Facing the Blue Sea (3)

Soaking wet, Miao Yi climbed out of the water and returned to Lao Bai’s side, saying with
a defeated tone, “The current I can stand, but with the continuous flow of water, it’s
suffocating.”
“One month!” said Lao Bai as he turned his back to pivot around the rocks, speaking as he
moved. “If your transcendence energy is enough to last you a month under this waterfall,
you’ll have a firm foundation. I’ll be waiting for good news from you.”
“Ugh……”
Drenched from head to toe, Miao Yi looked at the roaring waterfall, and he finally
understood something. He understood that the waterfall that he poured effort to create was
to be used for his own torment.
Of course, he knew that Lao Bai would not let him waste his effort on something for
nothing and that there was always a reason behind everything that he was made to do.
Each task was all for his own good, and he carried them out with maximum effort.
Tides rose and fell, seasons changed, day after day he faced the sun for the True Fire of
Supreme Yang, day after day he became one with the heaven and earth, taking in its
Spiritual Qi, and engrossed in his cultivation, two years had passed.
After two years, the Miao Yi sitting drenched under the waterfall lasted half a month
under its onslaught using his arts.
In all this time, he still hadn’t been able to master his transcendence energy. But just as he
was about to reach his limit, the transcendence energy matured from the pressure, finally
taking form.
An unseen force exploded from Miao Yi with a “Bang!”, splashing water everywhere.
The unseeable force started to spread outwards, with him as the epicenter, forming a
transparent ball around him. At his spiritual point, a lotus bud quietly sprouted a petal
between his brows.
Finally stabilizing his foundation, he had trodden into the White Lotus First Grade stage
and into the cultivation grade boundary.
Miao Yi’s mouth twisted into a slight grin but it disappeared almost immediately, and he
turned his focus back to withstanding the strong current of the waterfall.
Lao Bai had said, he must last an entire month to be considered successful.
With his transcendence energy shielding him, the torrent could no longer wash over his
skin, and with that, Miao Yi lasted for five more days.
But he lasted no longer than that, due to the depletion of his transcendence energy earlier
on. The round transcendence energy shield shook under the continuous torrent of water
and collapsed.
The rushing current once again washed Miao Yi, who had already immensely exhausted
both his body strength and transcendence energy, into the depths of the water.
A month passed again, and Miao Yi returned to the waterfall after his body strength and
transcendence energy had returned to its optimum state. Once again, he used his
transcendence energy to shield his body, went under the waterfall in a flash and quietly sat
in a lotus position. A transparent ball shrouded him, not even a drop of water could touch
him.
When a month’s time was up, in the transparent ball under the raging waterfall, Miao Yi’s
eyes opened and caught sight of Lao Bai standing outside. He moved quickly from his
spot, restraining the transcendence energy as he descended onto the shore. He was still
dry.
“You said one month, and I did it!” Miao Yi reported the good news to Lao Bai, but his
face was full of bitterness, “We’ve been here for almost four years already, right? I have
been painstakingly cultivating for four years and my cultivation has only entered the first
grade of White Lotus. Isn’t this too slow?”
“Continue!” Lao Bai threw him a vague glance, then without another word, turned and
left.
Until the time came for it, Lao Bai usually never spoke more than a word.
Shaking his head, Miao Yi turned and walked up to the mountain peak. He could only
continue to cultivate.
Since there was no one to compare himself with, he couldn’t have known that having his
cultivation at White Lotus First Grade after a span of four years, wasn’t considered as
slow.
Not everyone was fortunate enough to be able to meet and have a tutor like Lao Bai. No
matter what doubts Miao Yi would have when in the middle of cultivating, Lao Bai would
always stretch out a helping hand. He would easily give an explanation in simple terms,
clearing Miao Yi’s doubts and helping him to quickly comprehend the profound meaning
behind it so he could improve at a faster pace.
Lao Bai had arranged Miao Yi’s cultivation method according to his cultivation progress,
and it was well-planned out.
Regardless of whether it was training to toughen his body or to cut into a mountain and
dig out stones to form a waterfall, in actuality, it was all to ensure that Miao Yi would be
able to cultivate internally and externally, maintaining perfect conditions of body and
spirit. This undoubtedly provided a good cultivation state for Miao Yi.
Even making Miao Yi undergo the waterfall’s onslaught was a way to temper his body and
willpower. Simultaneously, it was also to energize his training, overall improving his
endurance and the ability to bear the pressure of the transcendence energy he was
cultivating. This was a type of repetitive tempering which would be immensely
advantageous for him should he be faced with strong foes in future.
Without depending on external forces such as elixirs, it was already considered to be a
godly speed for a mere mortal to have ascended into the first grade of White Lotus in four
years time.
After painstakingly cultivating for another year, Miao Yi once again found Lao Bai to
clear his doubts, “Lao Bai, ever since I’ve crossed over to White Lotus First Grade, why
does it feel like my speed in absorbing the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth has slowed
down?”
Lao Bai replied, “It’s not that your absorbing speed has gotten slower. The actual fact is
that your capability has become larger. Following the upgrade in your cultivation base, the
speed of advancement in grades will appear slower than ever, and so it will take a longer
time. It will require a good amount of patience. ”
Miao Yi asked, “So how much time will I need to cross over from first grade of White
Lotus to second grade?”
Lao Bai threw him a glance and replied thoughtlessly, “Give or take twenty years.”
“Ah! Twenty years?” Miao Yi froze in shock, recovered and asked, “Is there a faster
way?”
“Yes!”
“What method?”
“A man’s will is an amazing thing. One man’s will may be insignificant, but when the will
of many are gathered together, it will materialize into an amazing power. Cultivators
gathered this power for their own use to heighten the effects of absorbing the Spiritual Qi
of Heaven and Earth. They have used the will of many men to do so, gathering them
together and absorbing it with great effectiveness. It has helped to enhance their
cultivation at amazing speeds.” Lao Bai asked in reply, “I am sure you’re not unfamiliar
with this condition?”
Miao Yi asked, “You’re talking about the power of will?”
Lao Bai nodded his head.
Miao Yi’s mind flashed over the shrine in his own home as well as those in other people’s
homes. How could he be unfamiliar with the required six hours spent in daily prayer,
offering his power of will to the shrine? How could he have forgotten the situation when
he and his younger siblings were almost sent to the Manor of Merciful Hope, where they
would have been forced to offer their power of will continuously for days and nights.
All this time, he didn’t understand why those ‘Immortals’ required this service, why they
had to make everyone devote their power of will, but now he finally understood why!
Miao Yi was curious as to how mystical the power of will really was so he couldn’t resist
the temptation to ask, “Once I have attained the power of will, how much higher can my
cultivating speed be raised?”
“That depends on whether you will be able to get a sufficient amount of power of will
supporting you, as well as the efficiency in utilization towards it.”
“Is there a difference in utilization?”
“You need to know that there are thousands of types of people. The gathered power of will
contains a variety of people’s distracting thoughts of the seven emotions and six desires,
so when using the power of will, it is a must to clear those distracting thoughts to purely
utilize the power of will to reach one’s goal. Or else one will be turned by the seven
emotions and six desires, causing an inner demon to form inside of them. If those with a
natural talent in cultivating are not careful, they may one day be devoured and possessed
by the devil due to their inner demons. For minor cases, they will end up as neither human
nor ghost, and will be unable to control themselves. And for the serious cases, they will be
bound on a path leading to death.”
“Since it’s so risky, why do those cultivators still want to utilize it?
Now, Miao Yi was also considered as a cultivator. And only now he realized that it was a
bit ridiculous to be referring to cultivators as Immortals, and so he decided he would
definitely not be calling them Immortals anymore.
“So there is the issue of the utilization efficiency of the power of will. Just use it carefully
and gradually. As long as you’re patient and not rushing to succeed, there shouldn’t be any
issues under normal circumstances.”
“By how much will it really increase the cultivating speed?”
“Under normal circumstances, and if nothing goes wrong, it will have at least a five-fold
increase in speed.”
”Five-fold?” Miao Yi cried out in surprise. “So that means, if I require twenty years for
my cultivation to achieve White Lotus Second Grade, it will only take four years if I use
the power of will?”
Lao Bai calmly said, “It can be even faster!”
There was a faint feeling that Lao Bai was trying to gradually tempt Miao Yi.
It can at least shorten the time required to cultivate by five-fold!
As Miao Yi listened, his heart began to itch and was on the verge of losing restraint. After
scratching his head and pacing back and forth for awhile, he began to speak hesitatingly,
“Lao Bai, I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to continue staying on this island,
cultivating slowly.”
Lao Bai let out an ‘Oh’ and then asked, “You want to go outside to gather the power of
will to cultivate?”
Miao Yi nodded as he replied, “Yes.”
“Since you want to leave, I won’t stop you.” Lao Bai walked to the entrance of the cave
and suddenly turned around, his gaze becoming sharp and intense as he said, “Have you
already made preparations to pillage the world’s power of will?”
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 18: Heart Facing the Blue Sea (4)

“Prepare? Prepare for what?”

“The preparation to pillage! The preparation to give you the ability to fight back when
others take what’s yours!”
The preparation was a wooden spear!
Lao Bai asked Miao Yi what weapon he would like, but Miao Yi himself did not know.
He recalled seeing a cultivator passing by him, resplendently sitting astride on a dragon
steed with a silver spear in hand. Therefore, Miao Yi chose the spear!
However, the island didn’t have the silver spear he pictured in his mind. Lao Bai also
wasn’t planning to let him use the real thing anyway. Since he liked the spear, Lao Bai
made him hack a tree and then carve out a one-zhang-long wooden spear.
Below the rocky mountainside, Lao Bai pointed at the bald, rocky mountain as he said,
“Use the wooden spear to destroy it. If the rocky mountain collapses but the wooden spear
remain intact, then that is considered a success!”
“This……” Miao Yi stared at the wooden spear in his own hand, feeling slightly
speechless.
Lao Bai’s long hair fluttered with the wind as he waved his hand to point at the hill, “You
must believe that with this spear in hand, there is nothing in this world that can stop you!
Even if it is just a wooden spear in your hand, even if it is a massive mountain before your
eyes, or even if it’s an iron mountain, you must believe that you can destroy it with one
strike of your spear. This is faith. This is the imposing manner that will make your enemy
cower in fright! Without this imposing manner, what right do you have to compete with
the heroes of the world for the world’s power of will.”
And so, Miao Yi’s cultivation of holding a wooden spear and hacking the rocks of the
mountain began.
Although it was just a wooden spear, when it was used by a cultivator and was imbued
with the attribution of transcendence energy, the strength of the wooden spear was more
powerful than a real spear used by ordinary people.
As he thrust the spear out from his hand, it pierced deep within the rocks of the mountain.
With a jerk of the spear, pebbles and rocks flew as rumbling sounds reverberated
continuously.
Within a short time, all was still fine. Miao Yi rapidly thrust the spear with immense
power, but after a long time passed and when Miao Yi had an inadequate amount of
transcendence energy, in the end, the wooden spear was still a wooden spear. Even a real
spear wouldn’t be able to withstand the force of mountain breaking, let alone a wooden
spear.
Wooden spears broke, one after the other.
As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. After destroying more than a dozen spears,
Miao Yi gradually understood the way of combining man, spear and the transcendence
arts. In the midst of the clumsy and tedious mountain breaking, Miao Yi gradually
mastered the use of the spear and the transcendence art to perfection.
Miao Yi crushed and broke the mountain rocks easily as he waved, thrust, and jerked the
spear.
Massive rocks tumbled down the mountain. Miao Yi jerked his spear and struck the rocks
furiously, breaking it into pieces.
When the entire rocky mountain collapsed, already two years had passed. Miao Yi carried
his eighty-first wooden spear and stood on top of the collapsed crushed rocks as he said to
Lao Bai, “I have succeeded. Can I leave now?”
The answer was no. Lao Bai said that the depth of the transcendence energy can increase
through time. However, situations where lower-leveled cultivators have managed to kill a
higher-leveled cultivator, do happen often. The main point is one’s proficiency when using
transcendence energy. The most adept one is invincible!
Lao Bai pointed back to the waterfall!
And so, Miao Yi carried all the collapsed rocks one by one to the area above the waterfall,
piling them all up there. He gathered vines and weaved a net which helped him bundle up
a huge amount of rocks.
Miao Yi then carried his spear and stood beneath the torrential waterfall with his eyes
covered by a cloth.
Standing on top of that mountain, Lao Bai pulled the weaved vine net and its great number
of rocks to move along with the torrential waterfall and fall downwards onto Miao Yi. Lao
Bai said that this was to train Miao Yi’s perceptivity.
Miao Yi immediately lifted his spear and angrily hit the rocks rushing down with the flow
of water. Yet, the rocks crushed during that first round were less than ten percent of the
total amount.
Again and again. Not only did Miao Yi have to endure the impact of the torrential
waterfall, he had to distinguish the rocks flowing within it. It was unknown how many
times he was left exhausted to the point of getting hit into the river by the massive rocks.
As more and more rocks piled up within the valley, Miao Yi became increasingly closer to
the area above the waterfall. Miao Yi’s reaction time grew faster, and his skill with the
spear became increasingly swift and accurate…
The sea weather tended to change unexpectedly. When a terrifying typhoon was seen
approaching on the gloomy, great sea and when the furious waves inundated the horizon,
Lao Bai made Miao Yi sail on a wooden raft built out of a pile of coconut shells, and then
float out into the tempestuous sea.
In the midst of the fierce wind and furious waves, the heaven and earth seemed to shake.
Standing on the wooden raft, Miao Yi gave up on attributing it with his transcendence
energy, upon which the wooden raft immediately capsized and was hit by the massive
waves.
The one hundred coconut shells were immediately blasted away by the wind and the
waves. Instantly, Miao Yi held his spear and stepped onto the waves, pursuing the coconut
shells and then crushing them with one spear thrust.
He was seen either holding the spear, flying and leaping across the crest of the furious
waves, or rushing into the huge earth-shattering waves.
As the waves calmed down, Lao Bai and Miao Yi sailed towards the deeper regions of the
sea.
In the sea of this valley, a kind of Tyrant Fish lived a thousand meters below sea level. It
was one meter long with bony scales all over its body. It wasn’t very active so once it had
eaten enough, it loved to hide in its cave and hibernate. However, once it leaves its cave,
its reaction speed is extremely fast in the sea and has a shocking force behind the bite of
its iron-like teeth. The Tyrant Fish preferred to attack in groups and could even chomp an
entire whale into white bones within a short while.
Naturally, Lao Bai hadn’t led Miao Yi here to admire the scenery under the sea and feed
the fish. Instead, he wanted Miao Yi to dive into the bottom of the sea and kill the group of
Tyrant Fish.
The pressure exerted a thousand meters under the sea was astonishingly great. If the
wooden spear were not attributed with transcendence energy, it would be crushed into
pieces. It was extremely difficult for Miao Yi, who had only just begun diving, to adapt to
the pressure, let alone hunting and killing in such a deep region. Plus, it was extremely
dark under the sea.
Lao Bai wanted Miao Yi to see the pressure of the deep sea as the pressure of the
transcendence energy exerted by a powerful opponent.Through this method, he could get
used to attacking under the pressure of another person’s powerful transcendence energy!
When Miao Yi finally adapted to such powerful pressure, Lao Bai then did something that
made the Tyrant Fish leave their hiding spot from within their sea caves, and then abruptly
surround Miao Yi before attacking him.
During that first time, after Miao Yi killed over a hundred Tyrant Fish under the great sea
pressure, he could no longer endure anymore. He fled in confusion back to the surface of
the sea and climbed up onto the boat with bloody wounds.
After he had recuperated, Lao Bai made him do it again but this time with the objective of
diving a thousand meters under the sea and killing ten thousand Tyrant Fish. Only then,
would this training be considered a success.
Time elapsed quickly.
The waterfall that Miao Yi arduously dug had disappeared, because the valley beneath had
already been filled up with the rocks that Miao Yi crushed with his wooden spear.
In the midst of the typhoon and furious waves, the one hundred coconut shells would
never go missing. Neither the wind nor the waves could stop Miao Yi’s spear from
crushing them all.
The rippled surface of the sea was completely dyed with blood, as numerous Tyrant Fish
floated on the surface. Lao Bai had calculated their corpses and it was exactly ten
thousand, neither more nor less.
Splash! Holding the wooden spear, Miao Yi leaped out of the sea and descended onto the
small boat. He scanned the surface of the sea and smiled, “Although your requests were
slightly boring, I did what you wanted me to do!”
His figure looked resplendent, vigorous, and energetic. His eyes were brimming with that
radiating vigor and his black pupils shone bright like the frosty stars.
His strong muscles were symmetrical, and his physique was upright like a spear. With his
resolute appearance, he was handsome in looks.
After a long period of time, where he repeatedly killed, used up all his transcendence
energy and then setting forth to attack again, Miao Yi was prepared like an unsheathed
precious sword. He possessed an awe-inspiring and courageous aura. This was a rare
confidence!
It was an amazing type of confidence, built through countless times of failure and then
standing up to try again!
“I never said you were boring.” Miao Yi waved his hand and smiled, “I just thought it’s a
pity. I spent most of my time doing the things you’ve requested, but if I used this time on
cultivating my transcendence energy, my cultivation would definitely improve a lot. I
would be able to reach closer to White Lotus Second Grade.”
“As long as there are chances and time, you can cultivate. However, once the foundation is
built, it is a lifelong lesson and will benefit you your whole life. If you had lost the chance
to build your foundation and were to establish your own methods, then you wouldn’t be
able to repair it even if you wanted to. For example, no matter how great your
transcendence energy is, you wouldn’t be able to change the way you think, your
personality, and your habits.”
Lao Bai was succinct in his advice as he wasn’t the kind of person that would explain non-
stop. He nodded, motioning Miao Yi to steer the boat back as he said, “Return!”
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 19: Refugee (1)

The moment Miao Yi fulfilled his requests, Lao Bai didn’t go back on his words. He
stopped ‘preventing’ Miao Yi from leaving. But in reality, he had never stopped him; it
was more of a reminder. However, Miao Yi would always carry out his reminders no
matter what.
As Miao Yi’s name had suggested, he possessed the willpower that Lao Bai admired. And
Miao Yi himself was more self-aware than Lao Bai had initially thought, which saved him
from additional preparations or approaches that he was prepared to do.
The wooden raft, built from the freshly chopped timber, was pushed into the sea. Miao Yi
tied his messy long hair into a bun and secured it with a wooden hairpin.
He jumped onto the wooden raft holding a wooden spear, then turned around to grin at
Lao Bai, revealing a row of white teeth.
Miao Yi was really leaving. Since the moment he arrived at this island, he had gradually
grown from a mature teenager into the sturdy youth he was today. His appearance changed
considerably over time. And all of this happened in a flash of ten years.
Ten years had passed. He was really going to leave.
“Lao Bai, you really don’t want to go with me?” Miao Yi stood on the bamboo raft and
asked.
Lao Bai shook his head and laughed softly, “Please take care of yourself. From now on, I
won’t be able to guide you on whatever obstacles you face. Remember, from today
onwards, you have to depend on yourself!”
Miao Yi nodded heavily. He looked at Lao Bai with conflicting emotions and said, “I
should really thank you.”
Lao Bai smiled gently at him, “No need to thank me, if I’m ever in need of your help next
time, I hope you won’t turn me down.”
Miao Yi patted his chest and assured him, “As long as it is something that I can do, I
definitely won’t refuse you.”
Lao Bai nodded, “I hope you will remember what you have said today.”
“I won’t forget,” Miao Yi asserted. But after that, he scratched his head and asked
hesitantly, “Lao Bai, the ‘Fiery Star Technique’ that I’m cultivating isn’t too bad compared
to those other cultivators, right?”
“I have never compared it with other cultivations, so I can’t answer your question. Good
or bad, you will know for certain when the time comes. But you must remember one
thing.”
“What is it?”
“Arts shouldn’t be spread around. The techniques you have cultivated on your own will be
the foundation that will save your life. Do not give them away so easily, otherwise, you
will bring calamity upon yourself. You must remember! You must!”
“You’ve told me this numerous times already. I still remember, it’s considered taboo in the
world of cultivation!” After Miao Yi had finished, a gust of sea breeze blew in from the
east. He raised his hand to feel the wind, then shouted, “The wind has come, Lao Bai, I
really have to go now. Are you really sure that you don’t want to come with me?”
Lao Bai waved his hands lightly, then turned his back and left with no words of farewell.
Miao Yi raised his painted sailcloth, which was immediately blown by the sea breeze, and
then pushed the raft into the vast waters. He looked at Lao Bai’s silhouette and shouted
once more, “Lao Bai, you have so much knowledge, it’s really a pity that you don’t
cultivate. Please carefully reconsider it again when I’m gone.”
Lao Bai walked towards the mountain forest with his back facing Miao Yi. The edge of his
lips curved, dismissing Miao Yi with a smile…
Navigating with the wind and the current, the wooden raft imbued with transcendence
energy sailed at full speed ahead.
He watched as the island slowly disappeared from the sea’s horizon. His excitement at
leaving the island suddenly turned into slight reluctance, with a trace of regret. It was the
kind of hesitation that springs forth from one’s ignorance towards the unknown.
The sun set and rose, and soon a day had passed. Miao Yi still couldn’t see signs of dry
land. He suddenly felt doubt as he remembered that it was Lao Bai who steered his
bamboo raft to that island.
Lao Bai wasn’t a cultivator. With just his bamboo raft, how was he able to sail through the
vast sea and land on that faraway island?
He simply couldn’t wrap his head around it. However, Lao Bai was full of wisdom and
had known many strange things. It was possible he had some sort of approach up his
sleeves that Miao Yi didn’t know about…
The day had turned into dusk with the setting sun. Just then, a ship appeared on the surface
of the sea, coming from the direction that Miao Yi was heading to.
Truth be told, Miao Yi had never seen such a huge ship before. He stopped directing his
flow of transcendence energy on the wooden raft and allowed it to float along the currents.
Miao Yi was prepared to take a good look at the massive ship.
The ship had many levels of deluxe suites. The bamboo curtains were dangling against the
windows, letting in the sea breeze to blow through the ship.
A small child just learning to walk was tottering and crawling around on a thick rug. Two
women laughed joyously at the child’s attempts; one was a young, married woman
adorned with jewelry; the other, a red-clothed servant girl. The beaded curtain at the door
suddenly flipped open. Another servant girl, clothed in green, ran inside and shouted
hysterically, “Madame, oh no, oh no, a person is floating in the sea.”
As she said that, the married woman and the servant girl were instantly frightened and
covered their mouths.
The hysterical girl instantly realized that she had conveyed the wrong message and
quickly revised her words, “It’s not a dead person. He’s alive. He’s drifting alone in his
raft. I don’t know what he must have gone through to end up sailing alone at sea.”
So it wasn’t a corpse. The married woman stood up and walked towards the servant girl to
give her a poke on the temple of her head. A few people came up to the balcony and
leaned on the rails to look around.
Miao Yi stood on the wooden raft looking in their direction, and he was the poor guy they
were talking about.
“Steward!” The married woman leaned against the railings and shouted at the lower deck.
A middle-aged man wearing a large bamboo hat immediately ran upstairs. He bowed and
asked, “Madame, what is your order?”
The married woman pointed in Miao Yi’s direction, “I don’t know what happened to that
poor man, but since we found him, let us get closer to lend him a hand.”
“Understood.” The steward immediately went downstairs and made arrangements.
The ship slowly sailed towards Miao Yi. He thought that it was strange, but he waited
until the ship drew closer to him. The people on the ship threw down a rope ladder and
yelled a few words of assistance. It was only then Miao Yi realized that they were treating
him as a refugee from the sea.
Since Miao Yi was clueless as to where he was going, and he was curious about the ship,
he might as well just pretend to be a refugee and abandon his wooden raft. He climbed up
to the ship, taking his wooden spear with him.
After climbing on board, Miao Yi looked around curiously. The steward wearing a
bamboo hat was already walking towards him.
“You are lucky to have met with our Madame’s kindness. Come with me,” the steward
prompted, and led Miao Yi into a storeroom full of items.
Nobody took notice of the wooden rod in Miao Yi’s hand. At least to their knowledge, that
wooden spear was just a wooden rod.
Soon after, water and food were quickly delivered to Miao Yi to fill his belly. They
reckoned that he must be famished from drifting along the sea.
Miao Yi, on the other hand, thought of them as kind people. The steward had already
begun interrogating him on his background.
Since they had treated him as a sea refugee, Miao Yi took the opportunity to cook up some
wild tales about himself.
Initially, he wanted to experience some respect and recognition by flaunting his identity of
being an ‘Immortal’. After all, he had just got out from cultivating in the mountains, and
showing this kind of attitude as a greenhorn was inevitable. But since these people were
kind-hearted, he felt that there was no need to frighten them, so he waved that thought
away in the end.
The steward was starting to notice something strange about Miao Yi. He didn’t seem like a
refugee because he didn’t look as dejected as most refugees would be. After a thorough
examination, he confirmed that he was indeed a refugee and immediately briefed Miao Yi,
“The ship will arrive on dry land within the next few days. If you have nothing urgent,
please stay inside the storeroom. There are women on the ship, so do not go running
around the deck!”
Miao Yi nodded and thanked him.
After he had finished the meal they had delivered to him, a green-clothed servant maid
came in carrying a blanket. She looked at Miao Yi curiously and put down the blanket,
“Madame ordered this for your stay tonight.”
Miao Yi nodded and watched as she took away the dining utensils.
His sole intention of coming aboard the ship was to look at the ship’s structure. Miao Yi
eventually became bored staying in the storeroom of the ship, and he finally gave in and
walked up to the deck to look around.
After the steward had discovered him wandering around, his expression turned sour. It
might be because Miao Yi had refused to listen to his orders.
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 20: Refugee (2)

Not only did they drive Miao Yi back into the cabin, they even locked the cabin door.
Miao Yi was speechless. He could only open the small window and breathe in some fresh
air.
Because Miao Yi was bored, he spread out the blanket given by the order of the
unacquainted Madame and sat in a lotus stance as he cultivated.
Time passed imperceptibly, and already it was late at night. With his keen senses, Miao Yi
noticed another ship approaching. At first, he did not take it seriously, but soon the sounds
of clanging, fighting and screams of fear rang out.
The sounds caused Miao Yi to recall the fights that took place in the Boundless Secular
World.
“Pirates! Pirates! Protect Madame!”
It was the voice of that steward.
Miao Yi opened his eyes and rapidly stood up, grabbing the wooden spear. He walked to
the door and with just a push, the door immediately flew out.
In a flash, he dashed up to the deck and saw a ship sailing right beside theirs. In the
opposite ship, many pirates with sabers in their hands were jumping and climbing onto
this ship, waving their long sabers and shouting wildly to induce fear.
There were many people fighting with the pirates on the ship Miao Yi was in, but it was
obvious that the one’s defending were no match for those pirates that made their profits by
licking blood off their sabers. Quite a number of people had already been slashed by
sabers and were left collapsed on the ground. Especially when the pirates’ archers fired
their arrows, killing many of the men defending the ship Miao Yi was on. The defending
men could only retreat as many of their own forces were killed.
A few falcula ropes were hurled over. The pirates leaped out from the sails of their ship
wielding their sabers and slid directly along the ropes towards the master’s cabin. It was
obvious that they were trying to capture the leader first in order to capture all the
followers.
If they could seize the master, the others would stop fighting back to save their master’s
life. This way, the losses during the attack would decrease. These pirates seemed very
experienced. It was obvious that this wasn’t the first time they had done something like
this.
The fight outside was extremely terrible. Screams of maids could be heard from the
master’s room, accompanied by cries of children. The steward was also shouting in the
master’s room, ordering the men to stop the pirates from coming in.
Sou! The sound of a sudden, sharp burst of wind sounded as Miao Yi moved the long
spear. With a “Duo” sound, a white feather arrow trembled as it hit the spear shaft. It
almost shot Miao Yi’s head.
With a shake of his spear, the white feather arrow rebounded from the spear shaft. He
waved the spear, which measured up to one zhang long, at the archer who was holding
onto the mast.
Bang! The shapeless force blasted the archer who was about to fire again. The archer spat
blood and fell, crashing onto the deck. He stopped moving after struggling for a while.
Miao Yi was dumbstruck by what had happened. He didn’t expect that the opponent
would be this weak. Immediately, Miao Yi realized that he was no longer an ordinary
being, as ordinary beings wouldn’t be able to withstand his own transcendence energy.
Clang! The pirates had already broke in the door of the master’s cabin room.
Without any time to ponder, Miao Yi darted up in a flash. As he dashed into the room, the
transcendence energy bursted out from his body and immediately blasted the group of
pirates, causing them to spit blood as they flew out.
Simultaneously, Miao Yi dashed into the room and thrust his spear through the heart of the
pirate who had his saber up in the air and was about to slash the steward.
As the pirate collapsed, the saber in his hand fell to the ground with a clang, landing near
the steward.
The terrified steward, the lady with the child in her arms, and the two maids all saw the
expressionless Miao Yi who was behind the pirate that had collapsed. They all saw the
faintly glowing, one petal White Lotus that was in between Miao Yi’s brows, seeming so
abnormally conspicuous.
Feeling delighted and surprised, the steward pleaded, “Immortal, help! Immortal, please
save our lives!”
Without paying him any attention, Miao Yi picked up the load with his spear and carried
the corpse with the spear’s tip to the balcony outside to display his prowess.
After training his temperament for many years, Miao Yi no longer felt a sense of fear or
weakness after doing something like this. Even Miao Yi himself felt it weird that he
wasn’t afraid. He could still remember feeling that weakening sensation after he killed
Huang Cheng out of anger in the Boundless Secular World.
When the pirates that were rushing up saw Miao Yi who had the glowing image of the
lotus between his brows, every one of them tottered as they tumbled down the staircase.
Carrying the corpse with the spear, Miao Yi held it up and he shouted, “Those who refuse
to leave will be killed!”
With the use of the transcendence energy, his voice resonated loudly on the ship.
Miao Yi did not want to kill people. As a beginner, he had not established the habit of
killing people. He had just wanted to kill one in order to threaten a hundred. Miao Yi
harbored no wishes to slaughter everyone.
Everyone already saw the image of the glowing lotus between his brows.
At that moment, the ship that was noisily fighting instantly became silent, leaving only the
sound of the waves striking the ship.
In this world, the Immortals posed a great threat to the ordinary human beings. No matter
how good a human being was at fighting, he would still die even if he went against an
Immortal with the lowest rank.
Seeing that the crowd froze with no reaction, Miao Yi waved the spear as he exerted force.
Bang! The corpse on the spear was blasted into pieces.
The spear could even blast rocks into pieces, let alone flesh and blood.
Soon, the pirates that had been arrogantly shouting scampered off posthaste like frightened
rats, climbing back onto their own ship. There were even people that jumped into the sea
without hesitation.
The pirate ship departed at a fast pace. On the deck that Miao Yi was in, someone was
holding the corpses as they cried, “Brother! Brother!”
After crying for a few times, the person suddenly turned to look at Miao Yi and said
loudly, “Immortal, you let them go today and they will kill even more innocent people
tomorrow. By letting them go, you have harmed even more people.”
As Miao Yi pondered, he agreed with what the person had said. With a flash, Miao Yi flew
up the pirate ships. As the long spear was waved, screams resounded and wooden boards
flew in all directions. It was as if a bull had charged into a paper house.
The ship before their eyes soon became pieces floating on the surface of the sea. It had
been completely destroyed. The big ship was disassembled into pieces.
Stepping on the waves, Miao Yi rebounded and descended back into the ship he was at.
He then watched the pirates struggle as they swam for their lives.
In the end, he still didn’t kill the pirates, but he destroyed the ship which facilitated the
pirates’ evildoing. Whether or not the pirates in the sea could survive depended on their
own luck.
Shaking off the blood on the wooden spear, Miao Yi returned to the cabin under the
respectful gaze of the crowd.
Miao Yi did not want to care about anymore things that happened outside. As for the
cleaning and scrubbing, that had nothing to do with him.
Soon, the steward walked in while bowing and nodding. After apologizing for being a
poor host, the steward cordially invited Miao Yi to rest in the main room.
Miao Yi replied that there was no need.
The steward could only leave helplessly. After a while, the lady that had calmed herself
came to express her gratitude.
Miao Yi was born in a small town. He might not have known of many great principles, but
he did know about some things. He also wondered why a lady would make such a long
voyage.
The noble lady naturally had no audacity to keep it a secret. She told Miao Yi her
background and talked tirelessly about what had happened.
The woman’s name was Li Xiufang. She wasn’t from Celestial Nation, but from
Boundless Nation. Her family had suffered an unexpected disaster. When she had been
driven to despair, a person sent by her uncle, whom she had never met before, fortunately
found her.
She had never seen that uncle before because that uncle had left the house when her
mother was still young, seeking to be an Immortal.
Outside of everyone’s expectations, that uncle actually became an Immortal. The uncle
travelled from the Boundless Nation to the Celestial Nation and became an Immortal. This
time, she came with her young child to seek refuge with her uncle.
Under the circumstances where the followers were divided and managed by domains, if
one was not an Immortal, one would need a travel permit issued by the region to leave the
area. This was to prevent disorganization and to keep the domain from losing followers. If
people were caught without travel permits, they would be sent to the Manor of Sincere
Hope. It was nearly similar to the Manor of Merciful Hope, the place that Miao Yi and his
siblings almost got sent into. It was just that the Manor of Sincere Hope was for criminals,
and the treatment was far worse.
It was the same in both Celestial Nation and the Boundless Nation. However, because the
noble lady had an Immortal uncle to grease the wheels, travelling to another nation was
not a very big thing for the noble lady.
Miao Yi understood, realizing that this noble lady had an Immortal Uncle as her patron.
After the chat, the noble lady thanked Miao Yi again and again, inviting Miao Yi to rest in
the main room. However, Miao Yi still rejected.
When he had a low profile, he wanted to be high profile instead. But after indulging in
public prominence, he instead wanted to switch back to being inconspicuous..
Soon after the noble lady left, a lavish amount of food was sent by someone, and the bed
was also reorganized. As expected, the treatment was different from when Miao Yi had
just boarded the ship…
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 21: Greenhorn (1)

That afternoon, the ship arrived at the pier of the East Arrival City inside the borders of
the Celestial Nation.
The booming pier was bustling with people and activity, with shipments filled with the
smell of salt and fish being loaded and unloaded from the various ships.
Madame Ji’s uncle had already sent a carriage to the pier to pick her up. After they
became more acquainted with each other, she had specially left an empty carriage for
Miao Yi to ride on.
As soon as they left the pier, one of the informers quickly carried an urgent report back to
Madame Ji’s uncle.
The fleet of carriages were halfway to the East Arrival City when Miao Yi, who was
sitting in the carriage, opened the windows to view the scenery. His ears suddenly
twitched when he heard a wave of gallops louder than that of a normal horse’s hooves
coming towards them. He was no stranger to those sounds; they were similar to the
thunderous steps of those dragon steeds that cultivators rode.
And his guess wasn’t wrong. He heard the steward’s excited voice, “Madame, your uncle
has personally arrived.”
Miao Yi looked outside the window and could only see dust being blown about by the
wind. Two dragon steeds appeared and galloped madly towards them.
Their fleet of carriages weren’t able to stop in time, but the two dragon steeds had already
rushed towards them like twin bolts of lightning. Abruptly, they reared their front hooves
in the air to forcibly stop their momentum. A middle-aged cultivator with twin swords
strapped on his back sat steadily on top of the dragon steed. He swept his gaze across the
carriages, frightening the carriage footmen.
Behind the middle-aged cultivator was another cultivator with a head full of white hair,
carrying a long, big blade. He didn’t look very young, but judging from the situation, he
seemed to be part of the middle-aged cultivator’s troop instead.
Miao Yi predicted that this middle-aged cultivator was none other than Madame Ji’s uncle,
since it was unlikely that it was the person at the back bringing a higher authority officer
to fetch his niece.
Miao Yi’s gaze fell onto the two men riding the mighty dragon steeds, feeling slightly
envious.
Dragon steeds were the most basic spiritual beasts mounted by cultivators. Although they
had the appearance of a horse, their bodies were twice as large compared to regular horses.
They were also known as dragon horses, which were rumoured to be the descendants of
the legendary dragon and heavenly horse. Allegedly, only pure-blooded dragon steeds had
the chance to evolve into a real dragon.
Other than their massive size, their skin was also thick. The vital parts of the head, body,
and the four limbs were protected by naturally hard bones, just like armor and thus
ordinary swords and knives weren’t strong enough to inflict damage on them. Their
sustainability, ramming power, and leaping ability were mind-boggling as well.
Their tails resembled a snake; shiny and furless. And since the dragon steeds were
omnivores, their teeth were long and sharp.
Two curled and fleshy feelers sprang from the mane, which fluttered like waves at the
nape of its neck. Once the elastic feelers were linked with the cultivator’s body, both
would be able to flawlessly communicate with each other without the need to speak, thus
enabling the cultivator to control the dragon steed without any reins. This made the dragon
steed one of the most common spiritual beasts mounted by cultivators.
The dragon steeds also possessed extraordinary strength and were able to travel through
any form of terrain with ease, be it land or water. These beasts could run at their fastest
speed for days without rest, and were able to cover thousands of li per day. However, non-
cultivators wouldn’t be able ride them. It was a feat that would be nearly impossible for an
ordinary person to do, even if they resorted to using reins and brute force.
Hooves the size of claypots noisily stomped on the ground. The dragon steeds had a fierce
air around them, exuding a valiant aura which caused the other horses in the fleet to be as
quiet as cold cicadas, obediently following behind at a safe distance.
There was a great height difference between the people who were riding on the horses and
the cultivators who were riding on the dragon steeds, naturally due to the latter’s larger
and taller size.
The men on the carriages quickly came down to make their salutations. Meanwhile, the
steward who was sent by her uncle to escort Madame Ji, quickly parted the curtains and
helped her climb down the carriage as she held her child.
“Master Uncle, this is your niece. And this is your uncle!” The steward who was
supporting Madam Ji introduced both parties to each other.
“Ji Fang, greet Uncle.” Madame Ji could only manage a half curtsy with a child in her
arms.
The uncle got off his dragon steed, and extended his hand towards Madame Ji to help her
up. His eyes were watery and red as he nodded, “Similar, similar, you look so similar to
my elder sister. It’s all uncle’s fault, I should have sent someone to find you all, otherwise
you wouldn’t be…”
“Uncle…” Madame Ji choked, her delicate shoulders trembled as she wiped away her
tears, most likely recalling the unfortunate events that had happened to her family.
Her uncle touched the sleeping baby in Madame Ji’s arms, and comforted her, “Don’t cry,
let’s head back first then we’ll talk.” He signaled the steward to escort her back into the
carriage.
He turned around and climbed up the dragon steed again. Just then, he turned his gaze to
Miao Yi, who had poked his head out to look at them.
The dragon steed immediately strolled to the side of the back carriage where Miao Yi was,
as if it knew what its owner wanted to do. From atop his dragon steed, the uncle looked at
Miao Yi and asked, “So you’re the friend who rescued my niece from the ship?”
Miao Yi got out of the carriage and, standing near the wheels, replied, “It’s no effort at
all!”
“I am Chen Fei, what shall I address you as, my friend?” Madame Ji’s uncle—Chen Fei
spoke, as a three petaled white lotus on his forehead began to glow faintly, clearly
revealing his cultivation at the third grade of White Lotus. This was an indication that
Chen Fei had no ill intentions towards Miao Yi.
“Miao Yi!” he said, tossing out his name. The symbol of the one petaled white lotus on his
forehead glowed as they exchanged their names.
Chen Fei nodded, “It is inconvenient to talk here, so I will thank you properly when we
get back to the city!”
The dragon steed turned around and sped off with Chen Fei on its back. He had heard
about his niece’s encounter with the pirates in the middle of the sea, so he personally came
looking for her. Now that he’d made sure that she was fine, he could return without worry.
Otherwise, it would have been too conspicuous for a cultivator riding on a dragon steed to
escort carriages back to the city.
The white-haired cultivator quickly trailed behind Chen Fei and left…
The carriages arrived and entered East Arrival City. Several servants were waiting for
them at the mansion that had been prepared earlier.
After the carriage stopped, Miao Yi was not neglected at all. The servant girls listened to
their orders and guided him to a first-class courtyard.
A scented bath had been prepared. There was a servant girl who assisted him into his bath
and helped put on clean clothes that had been prepared for him. Having never experienced
it before, Miao Yi wasn’t used to this type of treatment.
When night fell, various tasty delicacies were served and arranged on the dining table.
Madam Ji’s uncle, Chen Fei, appeared once more. He cupped his hand on his chest and
said, “Brother Miao, please forgive me for my poor hospitality.”
“You are being modest.” Miao Yi showed his respect, as well.
Chen Fei appeared to be very enthusiastic. He sat down together with Miao Yi without
anyone else accompanying them. Most people wouldn’t dare to sit and have a meal
together with two cultivators.
Chen Fei expressed his gratitude once again to Miao Yi for saving his niece. After that, he
sighed as he told the story about how he unfilially left home when he was younger.
After a few small topics to break the ice, Chen Fei poured some wine for Miao Yi and then
asked, “I am wondering under which domain’s Overlord banner does Brother Miao
serve?”
“…..” Miao Yi was stunned. He genuinely didn’t understand what he had just been asked.
When Chen Fei saw his expression, he was also stunned before realizing what had just
happened. He laughed it off and explained.
In the world of cultivation, there were six powerful cultivators collectively known as the
‘Six Sages of Heaven and Earth’. The Celestial Nation was a territory owned by Immortal
Sage Mu Fanjun.
For the convenience of gathering the power of will and for the sake of managing billions
of its followers within the realm, twelve cultivators with profound transcendence energies
were assigned. They were categorized into twelve domain Overlords, namely: First
Earthly Branch, Second Earthly Branch, Third Earthly Branch, Fourth Earthly Branch,
Fifth Earthly Branch, Sixth Earthly Branch, Seventh Earthly Branch, Eight Earthly
Branch, Ninth Earthly Branch, Tenth Earthly Branch, Eleventh Earthly Branch, and
Twelfth Earthly Branch. It was a requirement that all twelve domain Overlords were to be
appointed by Immortal Sage Mu Fanjun himself.
Each domain’s Overlord controlled ten palaces, with each palace controlling ten halls, and
each hall controlling ten manors, and each manor controlling ten mountains, and each
mountain controlling ten caves.
‘Cave’ was the lowest level. Normally, one Cave Master could control one hundred
thousand followers at the least. The more followers one could accumulate, the better.
For example, there was a population of at least a hundred thousand in Miao Yi’s
hometown within the city wall. This was guarded by the abode of Immortals situated in
the mountains far away from the city.

Translator Notes:
The domains are named after the Twelve Earthly Branches which you can read more on
here.
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 22: Greenhorn (2)

Apart from cultivating, there were other things for cultivators to do. Obviously, they
couldn’t waste their main energy on managing their follower’s life in their own territory.
Therefore, they would normally be administered by the appointed local officials. Usually,
cultivators themselves would not intervene in local affairs.
In actuality, the upper echelons would also restrict the lower-ranked cultivators to try their
best not to intervene in the administration of the worldly people’s livelihood. A bunch of
cultivators who frequently enter closed-door seclusion training just to cultivate, how
would they understand governing? Once they intervened, it would only make matters
worse. If they made life impossible for the people and lost their followers in the process,
where would they go to gather the power of will?
Of course, to completely put an end to cultivators involving themselves was an impossible
task. Cultivators overseeing an area would definitely appoint and nominate a local official
they trusted to manage their own territory. For instance, Chen Fei intended to place his
own niece in East Arrival City, so how would the local official dare to not to handle it
properly with all his heart?
However, these were all within the upper echelons’ permissible range. As long as one did
not act unruly, the upper echelons would not bat an eye.
And Chen Fei was scribed under the banner of the Fifth Earthly Branch Domain Overlord,
serving directly under Han Lifei. He was the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave, the
garrison for East Arrival City.
So, that’s why… Miao Yi perspired tremendously, realizing that he really was a greenhorn
rookie.
But thinking back on it, the blame should be placed on Lao Bai. The things that Lao Bai
knew weren’t at all meager in quantity. He could tell you things about cultivating and
fighting in his own set way, but when it came to the cultivation world, he knew nothing of
the details and particulars. And the reason Lao Bai gave him was that he had never
wandered through the cultivation world before, so how would he know all those things? In
the end, he told Miao Yi that he would find out soon enough once he gradually went out to
explore.
After Chen Fei and Miao Yi clinked their cups, he asked, “Is Brother Miao a Loose
Cultivator?”
Without shame, Miao Yi asked in reply, “What is a Loose Cultivator?”
“Cough cough!” Chen Fei choked when the alcohol flowed into his mouth, coughing into
his drink. After steadying himself, he stared at Miao Yi in disbelief, as though he were
saying, you don’t know what a Loose Cultivator is?
After being asked that shameless question, Chen Fei was finally defeated by Miao Yi’s
expression. He coughed, “Those cultivators who are not under any domain’s respective
Overlord’s rule—or do not belong to any sects—are known as Loose Cultivators.”
Miao Yi then understood, nodding in reply. “Then, I am definitely a Loose Cultivator.”
Chen Fei stretched his hand out, requesting to drink a toast with Miao Yi and asked once
more, “Brother Miao is planning to always be a Loose Cultivator?”
Miao Yi replied disapprovingly, “There’s nothing wrong with being a Loose Cultivator. At
least you do not need to be under the control of others.”
Chen Fei waved his hands. “Your words are far from correct, Brother Miao. Not being
taken charge of by others may not be true freedom. Among the cultivators, who does not
strive to cultivate until they advance to the highest level of enlightenment? Without the
assistance of the power of will from every living being, that in itself is very difficult. The
followers in this world are all designated to serve under the Overlord of their respective
domain. Those who take pleasure in the incense and power of will are also serving under
the Overlord of their respective domain. The cultivators who are not initiated into this
would of course, not be able to share in these pleasures.”
Miao Yi frowned, “I have to serve under others to receive the power of will?”
Chen Fei nodded. “Correct.”
After hesitating for a while, Miao Yi spoke bluntly, “I didn’t mean to hide this from Big
Brother Chen, but I’m a greenhorn. I don’t have any social connections.”
Now, Chen Fei wasn’t an idiot who couldn’t tell that Miao Yi was a greenhorn by now. He
must have had his reasons since the conversation had reached up until this point. “I have a
good friend whose name is Cao Dingfeng, serving under Yuan Zhengkun, the Cave Master
of Transient Light Cave. He’s gained the considerable trust of the Cave Master. Recently,
Transient Light Cave went through some turmoil, and requires more people to help out. If
Brother Miao wished to head there, I could write a letter of recommendation.”
Filled with excitement, Miao Yi cupped his fist and said, “Thank you for your trouble, Big
Brother Chen.”
Chen Fei was forthright, he grabbed a jade archive on the spot and used his transcendence
energy to write a letter, giving it to Miao Yi so he could take it along with him to find his
good friend, Cao Dingfeng.
It was only days after that when Miao Yi finally came to the realization that it was all
sheer luck. If not for Chen Fei’s referral, it would have been difficult for a greenhorn
Loose Cultivator with a low cultivation base like him to join the vassals of the respective
domain’s Overlords.
There were countless Loose Cultivators in the world, but those that can be a vassal to the
domain’s Overlord were not many. This was for no other reason than the fact that all
available posts were quickly monopolized by every sect’s power. It was natural that every
sect would want to nurture their own men.
And as to the reason Chen Fei agreed to voluntarily extend a hand to offer his assistance, it
was all to repay a debt of gratitude, to pay back Miao Yi for saving his niece’s life. Miao
Yi had protected the only family member he had left in the world, so he was extremely
grateful.
Early next morning, Chen Fei did not detain him. Instead, he pushed Miao Yi to quickly
be on his way.
It wasn’t because he was reluctant to extend his hospitality, but rather, he was afraid that if
Miao Yi was late in his departure, some unforeseen events might happen. He was afraid if
Miao Yi arrived late, the available position at Transient Light Cave would be taken by
other sects.
New clothes and a well-groomed horse, along with some money to be used when on the
road, these were all parting gifts given by Chen Fei.
The horse was an ordinary steed, as Chen Fei didn’t have a dragon steed to give him.
However, he did commission the city’s blacksmith expert to work against the clock
throughout the night, selecting fine steel to forge a silver spear for Miao Yi. It would have
been an extremely unpleasant sight to let a guest leave with a wooden stick instead.
After leaving East Arrival City, Miao Yi was in high spirits as he straddled the steed while
holding a silver spear, swiftly dashing through the entire journey.
Obviously, the footwork of an ordinary horse could not be compared with a dragon steed,
the latter being far beyond comparison. Their speed was such that not even Miao Yi’s own
quickness could come close, even when his Arts were applied. But Lao Bai had once told
Miao Yi before, that when in the outside world, he should try his best not to consume his
transcendence energy if not necessary. Or else, it would be very problematic for him
should he encounter any troubles.
But moving swiftly for long distances with the use of his Arts was definitely consuming
too much of his transcendence energy. Thus, he could only resort to patiently letting the
horse run at its own pace, eventually arriving at Transient Light City a few days later.
Using his Immortal Status, he asked a City Guard he found in the city to help find the
location of Transient Light Cave. He immediately changed horses with the City Guard,
once again riding away in his haste.
Since Miao Yi had ridden in a pressing manner, it couldn’t be helped that his horse had
exerted too much of its physical strength, and it could no longer keep up a swift pace.
However, the horse that Chen Fei gifted him was a rare breed, so the City Guard did not
seem at all unwilling to carry out the exchange.
Transient Light Cave was situated deep in the mountains, hidden in a place where clouds
and mists wreathed. It was forty li away from Transient Light City and far from
disturbances.
In Miao Yi’s thoughts, Transient Light Cave should be an abode of Immortals which
resembled a cavern. Otherwise, why else would it be called a cave?
Arriving at the main gate, Miao Yi realized that was never the case, as he saw that
between the mountains were pavilions, terraces, and open halls laid out in picturesque
disorder. They complemented the valleys, as well as the swirling clouds and mist deep in
the mountains. It certainly felt like some sort of paradise.
But apparently, this place seemed to have undergone some kind of disaster. It was a
complete, chaotic mess beyond the gate. A mountain had collapsed, and trees had fallen
into a heap; even the gate’s monument had crumbled into pieces on the ground. Currently,
a large number of commoners rested in the surroundings.
Underneath the collapsed monument, an old man with a brandy nose and a wine pot
hanging from his waist was sitting on top of a stone beast, carrying two broad axes on his
back. He was improperly dressed and looked as though he had come down in the world,
reeking entirely of alcohol. Anyone who took a look at him could tell he was a drunkard.
He stretched out his hand to stop Miao Yi in his tracks.
“Kid, open your eyes and see where this is, is it a place that you can barge in at will?” The
old man leaped from the stone beast, glaring in a terrifying manner. Before his eyes, a
faint glow of a blossoming three-petaled lotus flower appeared between the man’s brows.
Impressively, it was a cultivation at White Lotus Third Grade.
Miao Yi was slightly upset as he came to the realization that his cultivation level seemed
to be seriously too low. After he got off the boat and came ashore, he had already come
across two stronger cultivators in a row, both with a cultivation at White Lotus Third
Grade.
Dismounting from the horse, he cupped his fists with the spear raised, saying, “Please
forgive me for the intrusion. At the request of a friend, I brought along a letter to pay a
visit to Cao Dingfeng. Please inform him. ”
When he finished, a one-petaled white lotus faintly glowed between his brows, proving
himself to be a cultivator as well.
“Cao Dingfeng….” The old drunkard mumbled, surprised that Miao Yi was also a
cultivator.
He eyed Miao Yi’s mount suspiciously, clearly finding it strange to see a cultivator riding
something like this instead of a dragon steed.
“Wait.” After the old drunkard had said those words, he staggered off, not forgetting to
gulp down a mouthful of wine on his way.
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 23: Horse Deputy

It didn’t take long before the old drunkard returned with an apologetic smile on his face,
submissively following behind a tall, upright man.
The man was carrying a sword on his back, and gave the impression of a delicate beauty.
He sized Miao Yi up and down, and hesitatingly said, “I’m Cao Dingfeng, you are looking
for me?”
Miao Yi immediately took out and handed the jade archive over to him. After Cao
Dingfeng received it, he studied the archive by pouring his transcendence energy into it.
After he was done, his face showed a look of comprehension and he instantly smiled at
Miao Yi, saying, “So, it’s Brother Miao. Since Brother Chen entrusted you to me, I’ll do
my very best. Please follow me to meet the Cave Master.”
Miao Yi thanked him and was about to rein his horse along when Cao Dingfeng, who was
somewhat taken back, asked, “Is this your horse?”
But after seeing the embarrassed look on Miao Yi’s face, he immediately turned to face
the brandy-nosed old man and said in a rude tone, “Shi Xiang, look after the horse!”
In the cultivation abode of Immortals, it wasn’t suitable for a profane horse to go about on
its own.
The brandy nosed old man immediately nodded his head and bowed before leading Miao
Yi’s horse away, his face full of flattery as he said, “I’ll help you look after it.”
Miao Yi thanked him, holding onto the silver spear in his hand as he trailed behind Cao
Dingfeng to enter the main gate.
Both of them conversed as they walked. It was obvious to see that Cao Dingfeng had a
great relationship with Chen Fei, or else he wouldn’t be this welcoming towards Miao Yi,
who only had his cultivation at White Lotus First Grade.
After ascending the limestone flight of stairs, they reached the the outside of the grand hall
where they saw a plaque that had the words “Transient Light” engraved on it, Cao
Dingfeng requested Miao Yi to wait outside the hall for a while as he turned to go up the
dozens of flights of stairs, entering the hall at a hastened pace.
Miao Yi who patiently waited outside, gave his surroundings a good look. Although this
place was located deep in the mountains, it was far better than any of the places he had
lived in and seen before. There were pavilions, terraces, open halls and a jade-blue lotus
lake. It was utterly and breathtakingly beautiful.
But his wait this time was quite long; he had been standing there for about an hour.
Eventually, he saw Cao Dingfeng walk out of the hall.
Although Cao Dingfeng still had his usual grin on his face, Miao Yi could tell his smile
was slightly forced. He wasn’t sure whether the man had managed to convince the
Transient Light Cave Master to let him join. But by the looks of it, he figured it hadn’t
gone smoothly.
“Brother Miao.” Cao Dingfeng stood on the tall steps, beckoning Miao Yi to follow him.
Miao Yi quickly moved towards him. As they stood side by side, Cao Dingfeng invoked
his arts to transmit his voice to Miao Yi. “Brother Miao, no matter what the Cave Master
asks you to do later, just agree to it first. When your cultivation has improved in the future,
you can fight for more then. The most important thing right now is finding a way to stay.
Don’t waste Brother Chen’s painstakingly made efforts. ”
Miao Yi mumbled in his heart. Sure enough, it didn’t go smoothly at all. But he still
nodded his head in reply.
After both of them entered the grand hall, he saw a lean man occupying the high seat in
the middle in the main hall, with a man and woman standing under him. The three of them
were deep in the middle of a discussion.
Noticing that people had entered the hall, the three of them stopped their conversation and
directed their gazes onto Miao Yi.
Miao Yi swept a glance through the three people, locking his eyes onto the lean man
commanding the high seat. He reckoned that the man was definitely the Transient Light
Cave’s Cave Master.
“Brother Miao, this is our Cave Master. Quickly pay your respects!” Cao Dingfeng
grinned as he gave his referral.
Miao Yi cupped his spear at once as he bowed, “I, Miao Yi, have to come to pay my
respects to Cave Master.”
Yuan Zhengkun, the Cave Master of Transient Light Cave frowned slightly as he said, “I
heard from Dingfeng that your cultivation is only at White Lotus First Grade?”
“Yes!” Miao Yi didn’t attempt to hide the truth.
This kind of thing couldn’t be hidden for too long anyway. He revealed the transcendence
imagery on his spiritual point, causing the pathetic looking one-petaled White Lotus to
emerge from it.
The man and woman standing below slightly shook their heads with helplessness as they
looked towards Cao Dingfeng. Cao Dingfeng cast them a smile in return, as though he
were saying please bear with it and let it go for now.
Cave Master Yuan Zhengkun said half-heartedly, “Dingfeng has followed me for many
years, and since he strongly recommends you, I won’t say anything further. Here, we’re
currently lacking one more Horse Deputy, so I’m not sure if you would like to take up the
post. If you feel that it would be a waste of your talents, then you can go and seek other
alternatives.”
Miao Yi couldn’t figure out what a Horse Deputy was, but since he had already promised
Cao Dingfeng earlier, he naturally cupped his fists and accepted it. “Subordinate is willing
to comply with your commands.”
Yuan Zhengkun nodded his head. “Then from now on, we are as family. Dingfeng, bring
him with you and make the arrangements.”
Miao Yi and Cao Dingfeng gave their thanks and withdrew.
After exiting the grand hall, Miao Yi followed Cao Dingfeng to the back of the mountain.
Cao Dingfeng called forth the drunk old man called Shi Xiang and a woman to the front of
him.
As before, old man Shi Xiang nodded his head and bowed, but the woman kept a straight
face.
“Shi Xiang, Madame Shi Xiang. This is the new Horse Deputy. Please assist to make
arrangements for him. As it’s his first time here, please help him with anything he doesn’t
understand.”
Cao Dingfeng still had some matters to attend to, so after briefing them he made a move to
depart. But as he was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something, then turned to
face Shi Xiang and his wife, his face darkening as he said, “Brother Miao is now my
brother. Don’t assume that both of you can be insolent just because he’s new. You husband
and wife better not play any tricks, because if that’s the case, I can’t be held responsible
for what I’ll do!”
He was afraid that Miao Yi would be mistreated, and so he made his position clear to
shield him.
Of course, Miao Yi knew that the reason why he was behaving this way was due to Chen
Fei. Both him and Cao Dingfeng did not know each other that well. The man was only
trying his best to do what was being entrusted to him, all to show his respect to Chen Fei.
“We won’t. We won’t,” Old man Shi Xiang guaranteed, his face beaming.
Madame Shi Xiang still kept a straight look on her face, as if someone owed her money.
After sending Cao Dingfeng on his way, both husband and wife led Miao Yi to look for a
residence, one that was situated at the foot of a hill and beside a stream.
Even though it was a single, small house with a small courtyard, it was still complete with
pavilions, terraces, open halls, flowers and trees. Although small, it didn’t lack the
necessary components and was overall exquisite in every detail.
“From now on this will be your cultivation residence. Look and see if it satisfies your
needs. If it displeases you, there is an empty residence at the foot of the mountain over
there. How about we go there to take a look?”
Drunkard Shi Xiang explained politely, smiling in front of Miao Yi.
Miao Yi toured around the courtyard and discovered there was nobody inside. He asked in
surprise, “My cultivation residence? This is for me to live in alone?”
“Of course. Every cultivator in Transient Light Cave will have their own residence and
courtyard,” Shi Xiang replied with a grin.
Miao Yi didn’t see anything to feel unsatisfied with. He had never before stayed in such an
amazing residence like this, so he nodded at once, saying, “There’s no need for the
trouble. This is good enough, so I’ll stay here.”
As he was done saying that, he recalled his assigned business. He turned his head and
asked, “Senior Shi Xiang. What does a Horse Deputy do?”
Madame Shi Xiang’s words carried a sting as she ambiguously replied, “Horse keeping.”
The madame didn’t seem fond of the two words ‘Shi Xiang’, giving the impression that
she would go mad if she heard the same address again.
“Horse keeping?” Miao Yi was astounded.
He soon found out the answer. Both husband and wife took him to Hidden Dragon Valley.
The Hidden Dragon Valley rose steeply from three sides and was a gourd shaped valley
with a narrow exit. All the Transient Light Cave cultivators kept their dragon steeds in this
location.
Miao Yi’s responsibility was to raise the eleven fine steeds in the valley, and thereafter he
was known as the Horse Deputy.
As to the reason why the dragon steeds were gathered together to rear, it was because their
owners were all cultivators. For the majority of their day, the cultivators would place all
their energy into cultivating, so who would have the leisure time and mood to take care of
their own mounts on a daily basis?
This type of menial task shouldn’t even be done by a cultivator. But alas, a dragon steed
has extraordinary physical strength, so a mere ordinary mortal wouldn’t be able to control
it. The dragon steed’s rapid speed was like a sudden clap of thunder and even a brief
backward kick of its hind legs would be too quick for an ordinary person to dodge, the
impact enough to batter them to a pulp. Since that one brief kick could result in their
death, then rearing a dragon steed would be impossible. So this task could only be done by
a cultivator.
Under normal circumstances, this kind of work was better kept under the table, and would
usually be done by the lowest ranked cultivator. And since Miao Yi was new and had the
lowest cultivation, who would do it if not him? If it were not to honor Cao Dingfeng’s
request, Transient Light Cave’s Cave Master wouldn’t have kept Miao Yi at all.
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 24: Tenth Surrender

“That mount belongs to the Cave Master, so Brother Miao must not neglect it.”
Shi Xiang pointed towards a valiant, yet exceptionally gaudy, yellow dragon steed. He
watched Miao Yi’s reaction as he advised him in a careful manner, thinking that Miao Yi
would not be happy doing such a menial task.
But all this was nothing to Miao Yi. He had always been very interested in dragon steeds
and so he was looking forward to having the opportunity to get close to them.
Seeing that Miao Yi did not show any signs of being upset, Shi Xiang secretly let out a
sigh of relief. He was afraid that Miao Yi would be offended and complain to Cao
Dingfeng. In his anger, he would seek both Shi Xiang and his wife for punishment.
“Actually, you do not need to let the dragon steeds out everyday. Once every five days is
enough since after all, we still prioritise cultivation.” Shi Xiang smiled as he consoled
him.
Miao Yi nodded his head.
After chatting about dragon steeds for a while, Miao Yi found out that the role of Horse
Deputy had previously been handled by Madame Shi Xiang, so this was already
considered to be a handover.
After completing the handover, Madame Shi Xiang left with a straight face.
Shi Xiang then accompanied Miao Yi back to his cultivation residence, mainly explaining
the Transient Light Cave’s situation to Miao Yi. His explanation was a form of
introduction, as briefed by Cao Dingfeng.
Inclusive of the Cave Master, there were a total of eleven people in Transient Light Cave.
Cave Master, Yuan Zhengkun, had a cultivation at White Lotus Fifth Grade. Cao Dingfeng
and the other two cultivators who had their cultivation at White Lotus Third Grade were
Yuan Zhengkun’s capable right-hand men. Even Shi Xiang and his wife had their
cultivation at White Lotus Third Grade. The remaining four cultivators were at White
Lotus Second Grade. Only Miao Yi alone had a cultivation at the first grade of White
Lotus.
The average ‘cave’ level allocation has always been eleven people, mainly because there
weren’t enough resources to accommodate more. It was important to know that for every
person accepted, they must divide the allocation of followers’ incense and power of will.
Currently, both of them were conversing with each other in a courtyard pavilion. Madame
Shi Xiang soon returned, with two nervous, beautiful maidens trailing behind her.
“These two servant girls are sent here from Transient Light City by Cao Dingfeng to serve
your daily needs,” Madame Shi Xiang uttered to Miao Yi with an expressionless face.
“Serve me…” Miao Yi glanced over at the two beautiful maidens who had their heads
lowered. He still wasn’t used to this kind of treatment. Mainly because he had never
properly come into contact with women before this, so it was inevitable that he was
embarrassed, like a lad’s first time. He couldn’t help but turn his attention to Shi Xiang,
asking, “So every cultivator has some?”
If every cultivator had servants taking care of their daily needs, he would simply push the
boat with the current and accept it, else it would be quite embarrassing.
Shi Xiang chuckled awkwardly, not saying a word.
Madame Shi Xiang sarcastically said, “We don’t have the sort of life where we can order
servant girls around to serve us. It’s good enough that we ourselves don’t get ordered
around.”
“….” Stunned, Miao Yi finally realized that although the husband and wife’s cultivation
base was the same as Cao Dingfeng, only second to the Cave Master’s, yet their statuses
seemed to be far apart in comparison. Cao Dingfeng still ordered the both of them around
as he pleased.
Shi Xiang rubbed his nose, anxious to keep up appearances as he said, “Every cultivator in
the cave will have two handmaidens. Since the two of us are married, if we keep a few
handmaidens at our side, what if one day I couldn’t restrain myself from being
affectionate with them? Wouldn’t it cause our marriage to fall apart? Thus, I gave them up
to someone else.”
Miao Yi chuckled, thinking to himself that it turned out Shi Xiang was afraid of his wife.
As he was about to accept the two handmaidens, who knew Madame Shi Xiang would
suddenly glare at Shi Xiang, pointing and shouting in a fit of rage. “You good-for-nothing,
stop putting feathers in your own cap! It was obvious that you’re being looked down upon
by others, so you couldn’t even hold back the handmaidens who were given to us! You
have the nerve to say you gave them up to someone else? If you have the guts to, then
snatch the handmaidens from them! Even if you give your affections to ten handmaidens, I
would pretend I never see it!”
Shi Xiang smiled weakly and didn’t utter another word.
Miao Yi was shocked to hear such an inside story. Both of them had a cultivation at White
Lotus Third Grade, but didn’t even have handmaidens, whereas he himself with a mere
cultivation at first grade was given two handmaidens. It seemed a little… He hurriedly
tried to diffuse the awkward situation, “Big Brother Cao treats me with kindness. I’d
rather give these two handmaidens to Big Brother Cao, instead.”
Shi Xiang and his wife were both taken aback at the same time. Madame Shi Xiang’s eyes
flickered as she said, “Since he has already sent them to you, just accept his goodwill.
Having someone by your side to help you do menial chores can save you a lot of trouble.”
Miao Yi shook his head, got to his feet and said to the two handmaidens, “Follow me.”
When Shi Xiang saw the two handmaidens trailing behind him compliantly, he panicked,
instantly shouting, “Brother Miao, don’t…”
The glare Madame Shi Xiang sent towards her husband immediately shut him up.
To Madame Shi Xiang, when others had taken away their own handmaidens, they were
simply looking down on them and belittling their position, and so she was unable to
stomach it. But if there were seriously two beautiful handmaidens by her husband’s side,
she really wouldn’t feel at ease.
After Miao Yi left with the two handmaidens, Madame Shi Xiang pursed her lips and said,
“He didn’t want to have the two handmaidens by his side because it would humiliate us,
so he sent them away. He’s a good kid!”
Handmaidens who were sent to serve cultivators had to place their lives in the hands of
those cultivators. Apart from doing menial chores, cultivators had the right to do what
they wanted with their handmaidens, so naturally the more the better, with many hoping to
have beautiful women gathered like clouds from all directions.
When Miao Yi sent the two handmaidens to Cao Dingfeng’s side, Cao Dingfeng naturally
declined the offer, but seeing Miao Yi sincerely insisting on it, he kindly accepted them.
His perception towards Miao Yi had increased for reasons other than being acquainted
with Chen Fei. He personally went to see Miao Yi out, not forgetting to urge Miao Yi to
find him directly if there was anything he needed.
During his journey back to his cultivation residence, Miao Yi gradually realized that it
might seriously be inconvenient in the future to be lacking two handmaidens, since he was
left doing his own menial chores now. At least his cultivation had not advanced to the state
that he could cast away the desire of good food. Now, it looked like he would need to deal
with everything by himself, regardless of how trivial, just like when he cultivated on the
island.
After returning to his residence, Shi Xiang was still waiting for him and then cheerfully
dragged Miao Yi to attend a banquet at their place.
Madame Shi Xiang had personally prepared a table full of delicious delicacies to serve, for
which Miao Yi naturally thanked her for.
But as the words ‘Madame Shi Xiang’ left his mouth, he immediately noticed that
Madame Shi Xiang’s expression had darkened considerably. Miao Yi naturally wanted to
find out the reason why. “Madame doesn’t seem to like being addressed as Madame Shi
Xiang. Could it be that I have offended you by mistake?”
“You don’t know the inner story so you cannot be blamed for it.” Madame Shi Xiang
didn’t hide the truth from him, because Miao Yi would know about it sooner or later.
Rather than letting him find out afterwards and being looked down upon by him, she
would be better off coming clean of her own accord and reveal the truth to him now.
Apparently, ‘Shi Xiang’ was a completely humiliating and satirizing form of address. Shi
Xiang’s real name was Yan Xiu and Madame Shi Xiang’s real name was Luo Zhen.
They were both the most senior members in Transient Light Cave. The Cave Master and
the members of Transient Light Cave had all changed, one after another, yet only these
two had always remained.
When the enemy attacked Transient Light Cave, husband and wife turned up but did not
exert themselves. Afterwards, when the cave’s forces suffered a defeat at the hands of the
enemy, both husband and wife surrendered. And the current Cave Master, Yuan Zhengkun,
had only just conquered the Transient Light Cave about a month ago, taking up all of its
territory.
For the sake of saving their own skin, both husband and wife once again surrendered to
Yuan Zhengkun, and already it counted as their tenth surrender.
They had made a name for themselves for surrendering countless times. No one in
Transient Light Cave thought highly of them anymore. Hence, they were ridiculed and
humiliatingly were called ‘Shi Xiang’ and ‘Madame Shi Xiang’.

Translator Note:
十降 [shí xiáng] - A derogatory nickname which means ‘Tenth Surrender’. When heard in
passing, it sounds like an actual name so Miao Yi thought nothing of it.
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 25: Four Realms of Arts

After listening, Miao Yi sweatdropped tremendously. He discovered that both husband and
wife were really something else, but then he also realized that he himself had been
extremely disrespectful. He wasn’t even aware of the situation and yet he still blindly
called them by those names. It was no wonder Madame Shi Xiang didn’t look pleased. If
you’re humiliating others, it would be strange for them to be pleased with you.
Miao Yi quickly stood up to apologize.
“You didn’t know, so you’re not at fault.” Luo Zhen waved her hands. After venting out
the frustrations in her heart, she felt more relieved.
But after seeing the pathetic sight of the brooding Yan Xiu who was plied with drink, a
raging fire emerged once more in her heart. Thus, she pointed and shouted angrily in a fit
of rage. “What interminably rotten luck to be married to you! I am a great cultivator at
White Lotus Third Grade and yet, I am ordered around by a couple of White Lotus Second
Grade cultivators. What kind of man are you? When can you be a man for once, so I can
hold my head up high and be a person with dignity?”
After berating him, she wiped her reddened eyes, flung her hand and left.
Speechless, Miao Yi could understand Luo Zhen’s resentful feelings. If he were in her
shoes and being purposefully called ‘Shi Xiang, Shi Xiang’ with such frequency, he
wouldn’t be able to take it too.
However, Yan Xiu apparently had his own way of thinking.
“Brother Miao, don’t take offense at women.” The already tipsy Yan Xiu grabbed onto
Miao Yi’s wrist, cheerfully saying, “What does reputation count as? Reputation means
nothing. Is reputation more important than our own lives? Just surrendering ten times and
she couldn’t even take it? She couldn’t even see, the number of people who’ve been
replaced or have died in Transient Light Cave throughout these years? Only the two of us
survived. And being able to survive is stronger than anything else. This is our ability. The
Six Sages of Heaven and Earth want to make the cultivators kill each other, but I won’t
ever fall for it!”
Miao Yi deeply felt that Yan Xiu’s words had an ounce of truth to them, but was taken
aback after listening to the end, and so he asked dubiously, “The Six Sages of Heaven and
Earth want us to kill each other? What do you mean by that?”
Yan Xiu looked at him as if he were an idiot, waved a hand and said, “Every living being’s
power of will is only this much, but the number of cultivators keep increasing. Everyone
wants to obtain the power of will to help with their cultivation. Have you ever imagined
what will happen if things keep going on like this? There’s bound to be more cultivators
acting recklessly in their desperation. Once things become chaotic, the first to suffer from
disaster would be the myriad number of living beings who have been devoting their power
of will. When that time comes, it would definitely bring disorder to the Six Sages of
Heaven and Earth until they’d no longer be able to lie in the comfort of the incense and
power of will. Regardless of how powerful they are, can they kill off all the cultivators in
the world? Hence, all six of them came up with the rules of the game. They close one eye
and open the other, and even if they have the power they won’t put a stop to it; allowing
the Overlords of each respective domain to snatch the domain of another, allowing
cultivators to kill incessantly, and using this to exhaust and reduce the number of
cultivators in the world. After all, no matter who claims the domain, they would never
dare reduce the devotion of the power of will to the Six Sages. Those that should be turned
over, should still be turned over as per the usual. No matter how many cultivators have
died, it had nothing to do with them. It can also help them to eliminate those who are a
threat to their status. Brother, it’s precisely that I see it clearer than anyone else that makes
me not an idiot like the others. What’s wrong with surrendering? It’s better than losing
your own life!”
Miao Yi became speechless. If the situation was truly as what he’d said, he felt that he had
been convinced by Yan Xiu’s words. The expression he gave when he looked at Yan Xiu
was slightly admiring, as though he were looking at a man of wisdom. He discovered that
this drunkard was in fact a real wise man who pretended to be a fool in disguise!
Miao Yi modestly asked for guidance, “Is there really no one who sees through the Six
Sages’ scheme and wishes to stop them from doing this?”
“Stop them?” Yan Xiu took a swallow of wine and chuckled, “Their cultivation is the
highest among all others in the entire cultivation world—a cultivation at the realm of
Golden Lotus! How many would dare to oppose them?”
“Realm of Golden Lotus?” Miao Yi asked puzzlingly. “The Six Sages’ cultivation is only
at the realm of Golden Lotus?”
Yan Xiu let out a burp and replied, “White Lotus, Blue Lotus, Red Lotus, Violet Lotus,
Golden Lotus. The cultivation of these six has already reached the Golden Lotus realm. In
this lifetime, we wouldn’t even have the chance to be able to touch the Violet Lotus realm,
and yet, you still find it too low?”
He patted Miao Yi’s shoulders. “Brother, cultivation is the same as being a human being.
You’ll need to be surefooted and not bite off more than what you can chew. You can boast
like that in front of me. Just don’t do the same out there. Be careful not to make a laughing
stock out of yourself.”
Miao Yi wasn’t boasting without shame, he just felt that it was different from what Lao
Bai had told him, so with a dubious look, he asked, “Isn’t there an Iridescent Lotus realm
above the Golden Lotus?”
“Iridescent Lotus?” Yan Xiu exclaimed in bewilderment. “I have never heard of anyone in
the cultivation world to have attained the Iridescent Lotus realm. That realm you’ve
mentioned only exists in the legends, which I think were rumored from the Boundless
Secular World. In earlier years, someone found a few remnants of information. On it was
recorded the hypothesis of the Iridescent Lotus, but no one has seen it before.”
“…” Miao Yi mumbled secretly under his breath, while holding his cup of wine, because
what Lao Bai had claimed wasn’t the same at all.
Regardless of whether it was White Lotus, Blue Lotus or Golden Lotus, every realm had
nine grades, with nine petals making up the nine grades.
And according to Lao Bai, he divided the cultivation realm into the Four Great Realms,
namely the First Art of Traversing, Second Art of Levitation, Third Art of Soaring the
Heavens and the Fourth Art of Infinity.
Cultivators with a cultivation of White Lotus and Blue Lotus could only traverse freely on
land—and weren’t able to soar through the skies—therefore, Lao Bai declared it as the
First Art of Traversing.
Cultivators with a cultivation of Red Lotus and Violet Lotus have the power to control
objects and levitate through the sky, similar to the incident he saw at Ancient City where
Fairy Hong Chen was levitating and flying, and so he designated it as the Second Art of
Levitation.
As for cultivators with a cultivation of Golden Lotus and Iridescent Lotus, they were able
to transcend beyond the stars and soar across the universe. Thus, Lao Bai defined it as the
Third Art of Soaring the Heavens.
It’s worth mentioning that for the realm of Iridescent Lotus, every grade could bloom into
nine different colored petals. Hence, attaining the highest ninth grade would mean having
a total of 9,980 colored petals.
Previously, Lao Bai had mentioned that the Fourth Art of Infinity was actually the highest
realm. He said that if one were to cultivate up to this stage, then it meant that person had
reached the realm of boundless transcendence energy, and he would be able to change the
pattern on his spiritual point to a design of his choice. Within the highest level in this
realm, the phantom between one’s brows further allowed one to turn what was abstract
into something real, eventually forming a pattern which belonged to the person himself.
For example, for some people, it would be a vermillion dot between their brows.
Of course, Lao Bai said those words were exactly as what had been told to him by the
Great Immortal he had once served.
Now Miao Yi couldn’t help but be skeptical about it. Since no one in the cultivation world
had achieved the realm of Iridescent Lotus or the realm of boundless transcendence
energy, how would the Great Immortal even know of this? Could it be that the Great
Immortal had also based it on a legend he’d heard of?
From today onwards, Miao Yi was afraid to call both husband and wife as ‘Shi Xiang’ or
‘Madame Shi Xiang’ anymore. Honestly, his cultivation level didn’t give him the rights to
follow what others called them anyway. Hence, he respectfully addressed them as Senior
Yan and Senior Luo, respectively.
In this place, where everyone looked down upon the married couple, they were extremely
happy to know that there was someone who, unexpectedly, respected them. After spending
time in each other’s company, they began to wholeheartedly treat Miao Yi as their own.
As a result, Miao Yi didn’t need to take care of his own meals anymore since whenever it
was time to eat, Luo Zhen would urge Yan Xiu to invite Miao Yi to join them, improving
their relationship even more.
Today, Miao Yi needed to head over to Hidden Dragon Valley to let the dragon steeds out.
Luo Zhen then personally came over to carefully point out important matters that required
attention. She then said she wanted to give a dragon steed to Miao Yi as a gift, but was
afraid Miao Yi would detest it.
“I won’t, I won’t.” Miao Yi continuously waved his hands. He had drooled after a dragon
steed for a long time, so why would he detest it?
After arriving at Hidden Dragon Valley, Miao Yi finally understood what she meant by
detest. Luo Zhen pointed towards a dragon steed whose entire body was as black as
charcoal. Thus, it was named ‘Charcoal’, which was a name given by Luo Zhen herself.
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 26: Charcoal

There was nothing wrong with being darker in color, but the crucial point was that this
dragon steed was also as fat as a pig. When the dragon steeds slept, they would sleep
while in a standing position, which was no different than ordinary horses. However, only
Charcoal had its own original idea and was the only one to sleep while lying down.
And what made people even more speechless was the fact that Charcoal was incredibly
lazy. When the other dragon steeds ran, they were as fast as lightning. But only Charcoal
would slowly and lazily gallop forever without a sense of urgency. Its speed was not much
different compared to that of an ordinary horse, and it was also useless trying to hit it to
move faster.
Charcoal was one of the dragon steeds that were gathered by the Transient Light Cave’s
Cave Master ten years ago. All its kin were chosen and taken away by cultivators, with the
exception of this one since it was simply too outrageous, as one would be better off riding
an ordinary horse than riding this dragon steed. Could this even be considered a dragon
steed at all?
None of the cultivators were fond of it. They all avoided it like the plague, afraid that it
would be forced onto them without room for refusal.
The lazy has its own luck, and a lazy dragon steed was also blessed with its own lazy luck.
With its surrounding kin coming and going, and with countless others dying alongside
their owners in battle, it managed to survive one disaster after another and was able to live
till this day because nobody deemed it worthy.
As they said, birds of a feather flock together. In spite of everything, Luo Zhen had taken
care of Charcoal, perhaps because its personality was similar to Yan Xiu’s. Otherwise, she
would have abandoned it to save on rations, or to save herself from the trouble.
Which was why Charcoal and Luo Zhen had a very close relationship with each other.
After noticing Luo Zhen entering the Hidden Dragon Valley, it immediately let out a long
neigh before getting up from the ground, its plump body staggering towards Luo Zhen,
before nuzzling its head against her’s.
“This…” Miao Yi glanced at the other high-spirited, lofty and valiant dragon steeds before
facing Charcoal’s ‘majestic’ physique. If he hadn’t known better, he would have mistaken
it for an enormously huge wild boar, so he couldn’t help but remark with a rigid smile on
his face, “It really is something special.”
He really didn’t know what else to say, as this dragon steed had thoroughly toppled his
impression of dragon steeds. It really was a bit fat, but then again, he reckoned it wouldn’t
have fallen into his own hands if it weren’t comparatively unusual in some way.
Luo Zhen felt a little unsure, so she tested the waters, asking, “Nobody wants it. Either
way, it’s an extra, so if you want it, you can have it without the Cave Master’s
permission.”
“I don’t have a mount of my own, anyway. This is better than nothing.” Miao Yi laughed.
“He has a flaw.” Luo Zhen seemed to feel embarrassed for Charcoal. “I’m sure you know
that dragon steeds are omnivorous.”
Miao Yi nodded his head and said, “This, I know.”
Luo Zhen said a little diffidently, “Charcoal only eats meat and not vegetables.”
“That’s easy.” Miao Yi laughed. “If I recall correctly, the feed for the dragon steeds are all
sent here by someone from Transient Light City?”
“Yes.” Luo Zhen herself couldn’t resist the urge to shake her head. She decided not to beat
around the bush anymore and said directly, “Charcoal only eats seafood, such as fish and
prawns. It won’t eat chicken or ducks, so basically no livestock. And the fresher the
seafood, the happier it is.”
Miao Yi stared speechlessly at Charcoal—the dragon steed already looked like this, so
what right did it have to be so picky with its food?
“There’s no need to force yourself if you’re not fond of it. You have a good relationship
with Cao Dingfeng, so if there’s a chance, he would definitely help you find a better
dragon steed. It’s just that I’ve had to take care of this one for many years, so I’m quite
attached to it. Now that you’re the new Horse Deputy, I hope you can assist in taking care
of it in passing.”
“No problem, just leave it to me… Can I try it out?”
Miao Yi pointed at Charcoal, wanting to ride it to get a feel of it.
This was naturally approved because if Miao Yi weren’t allowed to ride it, then gifting
Charcoal to him would just make a fool out of him.
“Charcoal!” Luo Zhen patted its body.
Generally, a dragon steed would never acknowledge another person as their master, unless
their current master had passed on. This was due to the fact that this kind of spiritual beast
had the ability to perceive the life and death of their master through telepathy. Hence, they
wouldn’t normally allow anyone else, other than their own master, to control them.
However, Charcoal was very gentle and compliant. It seemed to only have a slight
reluctance towards Miao Yi, but since Luo Zhen had commanded it to do so, it could only
turn its body around to allow Miao Yi to get on without any difficulty.
Without saying another word, Miao Yi mounted the horse.
A pair of fleshy feelers emerged from within Charcoal’s glossy, jet-black mane. They slid
along Charcoal’s body and towards Miao Yi’s thigh, eventually latching onto him.
Miao Yi immediately felt Charcoal’s lazy mood, which was transmitted through the fleshy
feelers. It appeared to be asking where to go next?
Miao Yi instantly sensed that it would be very interesting to communicate with his dragon
steed in this manner. He didn’t even need to use reins, which saved him a lot of trouble.
He lifted his head, looking towards the Hidden Dragon Valley’s exit.
Charcoal understood, and at that moment moved its four limbs, stomping the ground with
hooves as large as an earthenware pot, displaying a somewhat decent amount of vigor. The
only setback was that its speed wasn’t something to speak highly of, as it moved at a
slightly lazy pace.
It wasn’t even as fast as an ordinary horse. Thus, Miao Yi quickly used his mind to urge it
to gallop faster.
But apparently, it was futile to try pushing it to go faster because its speed stayed as it was
whether it was being ridden or not.
After half a day of torture, Miao Yi’s face had turned gloomy, especially after realizing
that Luo Zhen had put in a few good words for Charcoal. With this speed, she dared to say
it was no different than an ordinary horse? It even slipped when going up the mountain
slope…
Miao Yi finally understood why nobody wanted this beast—it truly was a bastard. Other
than the fact that It didn’t have a tiny ounce of awareness as a dragon steed at all, it was
practically a freeloader too. And not only was it a freeloader, but it was also a godd*mned
picky eater as well.
After circling for one round, Miao Yi got off the horse and said to Luo Zhen with a
mirthless grin on his face, “Not bad… it does have some good qualities. Its plump body
shakes as it runs, so my bottom doesn’t press painfully while I ride.” He forced himself to
try coming up with a good trait for Charcoal, as an act of giving face to Luo Zhen.
Brother Miao was simply too kind. Luo Zhen’s face reddened in embarrassment at the
scene, throwing a few kicks at Charcoal. “What a lousy thing!”
As a result, Charcoal indistinctly revealed a very innocent look before nestling against
Luo Zhen’s side, neighing.
Unable to resist the temptation, Miao Yi rolled his eyes at the fact that this beast could
even understand human emotions.
He could tell that both Luo Zhen and Charcoal had a very deep relationship and felt very
familiar with each other. After going back, Luo Zhen prepared a sumptuous meal of good
wine and dishes, once again requesting Miao Yi to bear with Charcoal.
“Pfff…” Yan Xiu spurt out a mouthful of wine on the spot, glaring at his wife as he asked,
“You gave Charcoal, the one you didn’t want to ride, to Brother Miao?”
Luo Zhen then replied with a sour look on her face, “Drinking wine can’t even shut you
up?”
“Haha…” Unable to restrain himself anymore, Yan Xiu hugged his tummy and doubled up
into fits of laughter. He could practically imagine Miao Yi’s reaction when he rode
Charcoal.
Luo Zhen immediately marched up to seize her own husband and began to pinch him
violently. “You good-for-nothing, you’re still more useless compared to it!”
The days gradually went by. Miao Yi led a quiet life in Transient Light Cave. All he
needed to do was to cultivate and watch over the dragon steeds. With Cao Dingfeng
covering him, no one dared to do anything to him. However, Yan Xiu and his wife were
still being bossed around to do menial chores. After being subjected to anger, Luo Zhen
would return and immediately blast Yan Xiu directly, throwing insults along the lines of
being a spineless coward to his face.
Occasionally Cao Dingfeng would drop by to visit him. Including Yan Xiu and his wife,
apart from the three of them, practically everyone in Transient Light Cave had forgotten
there was still such a person among them.
Miao Yi had yet to see the Cave Master, Yuan Zhengkun, not since the day they met when
he first arrived at the Transient Light Cave. He did, however, hear that he’d entered
closed-door seclusion training.
In addition to the others, who were also training in seclusion, Miao Yi didn’t even know
all of the associates in the cave. Sometimes, he would come into contact with some of
them when he brought the dragon steeds out, but usually, he would not get called if there
were any serious affairs to attend to. They probably minded that his cultivation was too
low, so he wouldn’t be of much help. They even wanted to order him to do menial jobs,
but since Cao Dingfeng was around to protect him, none of them dared to be disrespectful
towards his status.
Miao Yi had the impression that he’d been forgotten and left behind, so he went on
cultivating, continuing to look after the dragon steeds, as well as riding Charcoal who was
as plump as a pig.
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 27: Orb of Will

Snowflakes fluttered about, turning everything to white.

During his first winter since arriving at the Transient Light Cave, Miao Yi finally entered
the Transient Light Grand Hall again. This time around, everyone was in attendance and
he could finally get to know all the members of the Transient Light Cave in one sitting.
The reason for their attendance was because the power of will gathered from Transient
Light City had been handed over to them. They came here to collect their own share of
‘provisions’. Those who were in closed door seclusion training also came out and rushed
here because of this.
The reason why everyone agreed to be ruled over was all for this day, which only
happened once a year.
Cave Master Yuan Zhengkun reported to everyone regarding this year’s harvest; it
consisted of about a hundred Orbs of Will which were gathered from an estimated one
hundred thousand people.
Among 80% of the collected orbs were required to be turned over to the higher levels and
the cave could only retain the remaining 20%, which left about twenty Orbs of Will.
Miao Yi had heard about it from Yan Xiu earlier on that among the Orbs of Will harvested
every year, with the exception of the 20% which would be kept for the cave, the other
80% would be broken down further; 10% were to be turned over to the Mountain
Chieftain, 10% to the Manor Head, 10% to the Hall Liege, 10% to the Palace Lord and
another 10% to the Overlord. The remaining 30% would be entirely handed over to the
Immortal Sage, Mu Fanjun.
The other domains of the five sages operated in a similar manner. Anyone who dared to
break the rules or get caught attempting to pocket it for themselves, would be immediately
sentenced to an unsightly death as an example to others, basically killing one to warn a
hundred.
All in all, no matter who tried to claim whoever’s domain, the Orbs of Will to be handed
over must not have a reduction in amount.
The 20% share kept by the cave, were about twenty in total. Cao Dingfeng and the three
cultivators who were at White Lotus Third Grade, were Cave Master Yuan Zhengkun’s
capable right-hand men so each of them received two orbs. The remaining seven, inclusive
of Miao Yi, were only given one each.
The others with a cultivation base at White Lotus Second Grade couldn’t say anything
about it. Miao Yi didn’t have anything to say, too. However, both Yan Xiu and Luo Zhen
still felt slightly wronged since both of them also had a cultivation base at White Lotus
Third Grade. But alas, nobody cared about the injustice they received, so they could only
hold it in.
The remaining ten orbs belonged to Cave Master Yuan Zhengkun, but according toYan
Xiu, the Cave Master would normally not keep everything to himself, and would leave a
few orbs to be given as rewards to others, such as those who made great achievements. It’s
important for those who perform a meritorious service to be rewarded. Otherwise, nobody
would be willing to work hard in handling their assigned affairs.
The majority were happy to receive the ‘provisions’, except for Luo Zhen who couldn’t
bring herself to smile. One could tell by looking at her that she was trying to stifle her
anger, apparently finding the amount received to be too little.
After returning to his cultivation residence, Miao Yi sat properly in a lotus position while
staring intently at the Orb of Will between his fingers, which was roughly about the same
size as a granule. It was sparkling and translucent, emitting an indistinct white glow.
This was his first time seeing what an Orb of Will looked like. According to Yan Xiu, this
granule-sized Orb of Will was a crystallized form of the power of will gathered from a
thousand followers in one year.
An Orb of Will gathered from ten thousand people in a year would be around the size of a
pearl while an Orb of Will gathered from a hundred thousand people in a year would be
around the size of a quail egg. Under normal circumstances, the harvested Orb of Will’s
maximum size would only be around the size of a quail egg, and it wouldn’t get any
bigger than that.
Miao Yi was anxious to try out the effects of the Orb of Will he’d spent ages longing for.
He opened his mouth and placed it inside, performing his Arts to catalyze it.
Once refined, Miao Yi immediately experienced the power of the seven emotions and six
desires contained within the Orb of Will. These were the distracting thoughts belonging to
more than thousands of people—joy, anger, grief, fear, love, hate, desire along with other
negative feelings. Their impact on him almost shocked him till he lost his guard on his
mind.
Earlier, he had already asked Yan Xiu regarding the refining method, so he immediately
applied his Arts to disperse the onslaught of distracting thoughts, stripping out the most
cordial power of will before refining it for his own use. This was so he could utilize the
gathered power of will united from the forces to call upon the Spiritual Qi among the
heavens and earth.
At that instant, he immediately sensed the required Spiritual Qi being gradually filtered
from the air into his body. The Spiritual Qi began to collectively gather towards him,
eventually absorbed like a trickle of water, making the entire process considerably faster
than usual.
Being able to feel the prowess of the Orb of Will filled Miao Yi with utter excitement. It
was no wonder why cultivators in the world would want to get their hands on these. It
really was too miraculous!
Huh!
To Miao Yi’s surprise, during the process of refining the Orb of Will, he discovered a
strange phenomenon. The ‘Fiery Star Technique’ cultivation method he was cultivating
actually had the ability to directly burn away the distracting thoughts of the seven
emotions and six desires possessed by tens of thousands of living beings. It was far more
efficient when compared to Yan Xiu’s teachings to gradually strip and expel them out.
Afraid that it was only a figment of his imagination, he exploited the two methods to
compare them, once again confirming the Fiery Star Technique’s effectiveness.
Speedily putting a stop to his Arts, Miao Yi spat out the Orb of Will he kept in his mouth
onto the palm of his hand. He wanted to ask Yan Xiu about it so he could get to the bottom
of things—exactly what was going on here?
At that exact moment, the dark green bead he wore around his neck flashed a faint glow.
Miao Yi halted in his steps, suddenly remembering his time back at the island, when Lao
Bai had specially explained to him over and over again.
First, that his cultivation method must not be leaked. Second, if he were to discover that
the Fiery Star Technique had some strange effect on the power of will, then he must not
ever let the cat out of the bag.
Lao Bai mentioned that the Great Immortal he once served had mistakenly leaked out the
information, and was forced to live the remainder of his days on an island. It was as
though someone wanted to force the Great Immortal to hand over the cultivation method
he was cultivating. As for their reasons to do so, Lao Bai wasn’t sure of the answer.
Miao Yi’s heart beat wildly for a moment, faintly coming to the realization as to why there
were people who wanted to force the Great Immortal to hand over his cultivation method.
According to Yan Xiu’s theory, on the basis of Miao Yi’s cultivation base, if he wanted to
refine this granule-sized orb, a year was required. But if it were calculated based on the
speed he used to directly burn away the seven emotions and six desires, he wouldn’t need
that long of a time.
Which also meant that as long as Miao Yi had enough Orbs of Will to refine, then with his
own cultivation method and technique, he could increase his cultivation base much faster
and further than anyone else…
Overwhelming feelings of excitement were mixed with the taint of uncertainty; he would
need to move one step closer to test and confirm it…
Three months later, the snow in the mountain forest had already melted away, while the
Orb of Will in Miao Yi’s mouth had also been completely consumed until nothing
remained.
It didn’t require a year like what Yan Xiu had informed him, as it only took him three
months. Not only that, he had done it while caring for the dragon steeds every few days.
His own cultivation base had swiftly enhanced to a considerable degree; a granule-sized
Orb of Will had unexpectedly saved him five years of normal cultivation.
Back then Lao Bai told Miao Yi that he would require twenty years to advance to White
Lotus Second Grade. Up until now, he’d been cultivating for about five or six years. His
time had now been cut short by five years, which meant that he would need at most ten
years to break through to the second grade of White Lotus. In terms of Orbs of Will, he
only required two more.
Miao Yi’s blood boiled with indignation. If he possessed two more orbs then he would
only need six more months to advance to a cultivation base at White Lotus Second Grade.
After the initial excitement, he calmed himself down as he realized that he’d been thinking
too much. One year would only grant him one Orb of Will and a mere two years were
needed for him to obtain the desired two. The time spent waiting for the orbs would have
offset the wonders of his cultivation method, causing it to be no different than the two
years needed to cultivate according to Yan Xiu…
At that instant when Miao Yi was at a loss on how to get more Orbs of Will, Li Xin and
Sun Jiaojiao, the other two cultivators from Transient Light Cave with a cultivation at
White Lotus Third Grade, barged into the gates on their dragon steeds. They charged
towards the Transient Light Grand Hall and came to a halt, before leaping off the steeds
and vanishing into the grand hall.
“Move!” Sun Jiaojiao dispersed the two handmaidens who came up to welcome her.
Both of them looked as though there was some kind of emergency, as they barely gave
face to the Cave Master Yuan Zhengkun’s handmaidens. This type of situation wouldn’t
normally happen.
Yuan Zhengkun, who was meditating and cultivating at the back of the hall, was alarmed
by their arrival, stopped his cultivation and rose from his seat. Seeing the two people who
barged in, he had a faint feeling that something unfortunate must have happened.
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 28: Li Xin’s Scheme

Transient Light Cave currently belonged to one of the ten caves under the rule of Du
Zhangxing, Mount Calming Sea’s Mountain Chieftain. A few days ago, Mount Calming
Sea sent out news to each domain’s Cave Master saying that the Mountain Chieftain of
Mount Shaotai, Yang Qing, had broken through to Blue Lotus Fifth Grade. There was a
possibility that Du Zhangxing had asked about Manor Head Ding’s ambition, thus
requiring each respective Cave Masters to strictly keep a close watch on Yang Qing’s
movements.
Hence, Yuan Zhengkun dispatched two of his best subordinates Li Xin and Sun Jiaojiao to
go.
Now, seeing the both of them urgently barging in without ceremony, he deduced that they
had news of a radical nature to report. His heart sank as he asked, “How is the current
situation? Did Yang Qing listen to the summons?”
Regardless of Du Zhangxing, Mountain Chieftain of Mount Calming Sea or Yang Qing,
Mountain Chieftain of Mount Shaotai, they were all under Lu Yu, the Manor Head of
South Edict Manor.
The moment Yang Qing’s cultivation had broken through to the fifth grade of Blue Lotus,
Manor Head Lu Yu had felt threatened, and so he issued a law decree to transfer and
appoint Yang Qing to his side. His motive was none other than to separate Yang Qing
from his troops, effectively stripping him of power.
All the Mountain Chieftains under South Edict Manor were waiting to see whether Yang
Qing would accept the law decree or not. If he did, then it would prove Yang Qing did not
harbor any wicked ambitions, and so everyone could feel at ease.
Li Xin cupped his fists submissively and explained in a hurried tone, “Cave Master, when
the Manor Head’s law decree reached Mount Shaotai, Yang Qing was in a thundering
rage. He exclaimed that Manor Head Lu Yu had gone too far and his behaviour could not
be tolerated any longer. In front of everyone watching, he beheaded the Doctrine Envoy,
and then immediately banded together his force of ten caves to launch an attack into the
territory of Mount Calming Sea. Both Ten Thousand Spirits Cave and Sun Believer Cave
have been breached. Yang Qing’s troops are charging towards Transient Light Cave at top
speed right now.”
Yuan Zhengkun gasped in shock, “Is Yang Qing mad? He only commands the forces of
one mountain, and now dares to challenge the Manor Head’s forces of nine mountains?”
Sun Jiaojiao cupped her fists with both hands and exclaimed, “Yang Qing has already
obtained Lan Yumen’s support. Lan Yumen dispatched a band of his sect’s disciples to
accompany Yang Qing’s army. This is definitely not a coincidence. Yang Qing has
obviously been colluding with Lan Yumen and made plans to attack long before this!”
Li Xin requested earnestly, “Cave Master, Transient Light Cave can no longer be
defended, let’s retreat!”
“Scoundrel!” thundered Yuan Zhengkun abruptly, in a fit of rage. “The Mountain
Chieftain has always been good to me, and I have been entrusted the protection of
Transient Light Cave because of his confidence in my abilities. How can I flee without
putting up a fight! Who serves as the vanguard under Yan Qing’s command? Once I have
straightened out Transient Light Cave, I will crush that scum Yang Qing’s spirit!”
Sun Jiaojiao replied, “The Cave Master of Hundred Blossoms Cave, Qin Weiwei is the
vanguard.”
Yuan Zhengkun coldly sneered, “Qin Weiwei, that woman has guts to launch an attack
against our Transient Light Cave! Watch how I’ll deal with her!”
Sun Jiaojiao immediately continued, “Yang Qing’s own forces, personally led by himself,
are following right behind Qin Weiwei. The moment we found out, we rushed back as
quickly as we could, hoping Cave Master will make an immediate decision.”
“…” Yuan Zhengkun’s expression froze, speechless.
He wasn’t afraid of Qin Weiwei, but if he were to engage in a battle against Qin Weiwei
and then Yang Qing followed suit, then the joke would be on him. Putting aside Yang
Qing’s large number of forces, there was also the matter of Yang Qing’s cultivation being
at Blue Lotus Fifth Grade; he wouldn’t be able to defend against his attacks at all.
Li Xin earnestly requested again, “Cave Master, we will not be able to defend against
Yang Qing with our might alone. Where there is life, there is still hope. Now the most
important thing to do is make haste to the Mountain Chieftain’s side at once to help him
conserve his strength. Once the Manor Head rounds up his forces to launch a
counterattack, it will not be too late for us to fight back!”
Yuan Zhengkun hesitated. After great difficulty, he had finally become the Cave Master of
Transient Light Cave, taking pleasure in its benefits for merely a year. With his position,
he enjoyed the incense and power of will of ten thousand followers from Transient Light
City—he really wasn’t willing to give up the meat he had in his mouth.
Sun Jiaojiao warned in a hastened tone, “Cave Master, Qin Weiwei is leading her forces
here at great speed. At most, she’ll arrive in two hours so if we don’t retreat soon, then it
will be impossible to leave once she has us in her sights!”
“It’s not as if I don’t know that!” Yuan Zhengkun lifted his head towards the sky and gave
a long sigh. “The Mountain Chieftain has always been good to me. If I leave without
engaging in battle, he would not easily forgive me. And even if he kept our old friendship
in mind, there is also the Manor Head to consider. He should be bristling with indignation
over this whole affair, and I fear he will make an example out of me to serve as a warning
to others!”
Li Xin and Sun Jiaojiao stared at each other speechlessly. There was no doubt that the
Manor Head was furious over Yang Qing’s revolt. If he found out his subordinates had
fled without going into battle, the Manor Head would definitely not let them get away
with it.
All of a sudden, Sun Jiaojiao began to speak, hesitated for a long while, before gently
parting her lips to say in a low voice, “Surrender!”
Yuan Zhengkun and Li Xin turned to look at her with great trepidation and fear—only
trusted aides would dare to speak of such words between each other.
But, Yuan Zhengkun rapidly denied the idea of surrendering by shaking his head, “Yang
Qing must have promised some benefits to Lan Yumen for him to agree to support him.
Once South Edict Manor has been captured, not only will Yang Qing have to settle
positions on his men for their great service, he also has to appease the disciples of Lan
Yumen as well. There really will be too little to go around! There won’t be any advantages
for us even if we surrender to them. We would be left standing by the sidelines, our
reputations ruined all because we surrendered. So why torture ourselves?”
Li Xin and Sun Jiaojiao went silent. They knew Yuan Zhengkun was speaking the truth.
The couple, Yan Xiu and Luo Zhen, were the perfect example. Have they ever had any
status in Transient Light Cave? Although their cultivation was at White Lotus Third
Grade, they were still inferior to a Horse Deputy.
“I have a strategy that can help Cave Master escape this situation. But, Cave Master is a
man of deep compassion and of unwavering loyalty, so I fear Cave Master will not accept
this proposal.” Li Xin sighed insincerely.
“We’re already in this mess, so there’s no need to mince your words anymore.” Yuan
Zhengkun stretched out his hand and said, “Speak out what’s on your mind!”
Li Xin immediately moved closer and muttered in his ear…
Clang clang clang!
The alarm in Transient Light Cave rang, causing all the cultivators to scuttle out of their
cultivation residences when they heard it. They rushed to Hidden Dragon Valley, mounted
their dragon steeds before rushing swiftly to gather outside of Transient Light Grand Hall.
Until now, Miao Yi did not have his own mount since his cultivation base was too low.
The Cave Master wouldn’t concern himself with helping Miao Yi resolve his life
difficulties, so he could only make do with riding the plump Charcoal.
He still had no clue of the events that transpired. He saw that everyone had taken their
weapons with them; Yan Xiu, riding a dragon steed, held a pair of broad axes in his hands
and even Luo Zhen wielded a long and large saber single-handedly, displaying her
prowess.
“What happened?” Riding Charcoal, Miao Yi slowly caught up behind Yan Xiu. He used
his Art to transmit his voice in a quiet inquiry.
“It’s nothing good. The alarm rang for a long time, which meant we’re going into battle
soon,” Yan Xiu made a quiet reminder, “Brother, do you remember what I said to you
before?”
The rumored struggle between cultivators had finally arrived? Heart tightening, Miao Yi
nodded his head, understanding the meaning behind Yan Xiu’s words. If he could not win
then he should just surrender, there was no need to throw your life away.
Everyone in Transient Light Cave gathered beneath the Grand Hall. A number of people
simmered with laughter upon noticing the conspicuous ‘fat pig’ underneath Miao Yi.
When Cao Dingfeng realized the cause, he muttered to himself that it was due to his
carelessness, noting that he would seek a better dragon steed for Miao Yi once he had the
chance.
Abruptly, Cave Master Yuan Zhengkun rode his dragon steed out in a violent rush, directly
charging towards the top of the flight of stairs leading to the Grand Hall. He raised a long
halberd in the air and angrily shouted in a commanding voice, “Mountain Chieftain of
Mount Shaotai, Yang Qing, is a wolf with wild ambitions. He hold aspirations for the
Manor Head seat of South Edict Manor. Already, he has started his rebellion!”
The crowd was in an uproar. Miao Yi instantly transmitted his voice to ask Yan Xiu about
the situation.
“The affairs this time are a bit major than normal. Yang Qing has the highest cultivation
base in South Edict Manor, apart from Manor Head Lu Yu. Since he dared to declare war
against Lu Yu, he must be confident in his victory…” Yan Xiu surreptitiously explained
the stakes between them to Miao Yi.
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 29: Luo Zhen Rides a Horse

Yuan Zhengkun gazed about the crowd, boosting their morale in a loud voice, “Manor
Head is furious and has already assembled the entire South Edict’s forces of nine
mountains. Yang Qing’s doom is sealed, within the next few days we will tear him apart.
Earlier, I found out that Qin Weiwei, the Cave Master of Hundred Blossoms Cave is now
serving Yang Qing, and has split her forces into two flanks to surround and raid our
Transient Light Cave. I desire the head of that b*tch, Qin Weiwei! Who is courageous
enough to follow me in facing the enemies of Transient Light Cave!”
Everyone looked at each other in dismay. Before they could grasp the situation, Li Xin and
Sun Jiaojiao had already stepped forward on their dragon steeds, one after the other, both
of them shouting loudly in unison, “We’re willing to follow Cave Master to face the
enemy upfront and take Qin Weiwei’s head!”
Startled, Cao Dingfeng rapidly went forward with his dragon steed and cupped his fists. “I
am willing to go, too!”
Since Li Xin and Sun Jiaojiao had already responded, then as one of Yuan Zhengkun’s
zealous subordinates, how could he not firmly state his position?
Whether or not the others were equally as willing, everyone stepped forward and assented.
Even Yan Xiu and Miao Yi went along with the crowd and loudly voiced their support.
“Good!” In an instant, Yuan Zhengkun waved his long halberd at the crowd, and began to
appoint tasks to all. “Li Xin, Sun Jiaojiao, both of you will accompany me to drive back
Qin Weiwei. Cao Dingfeng, you lead the others behind the western mountain range to stop
the attacks. You must stall Qin Weiwei’s followers. Once I claim Qin Weiwei’s head, I will
immediately return to meet up with everyone!”
Li Xin, Sun Jiaojiao and Cao Dingfeng accepted the order together.
“Everyone in Transient Light Cave must make a combined effort to deal heavy blows to
the enemy invading our territory. Those who have served their duty well will be
handsomely rewarded! Forward!”
Yuan Zhengkun did not waste any time. Riding his dragon steed, he leapt down the stairs
as he brandished his long halberd and shouted.
Li Xin and Sun Jiaojiao immediately followed suit on their dragon steeds, charging out of
the gates and riding away swiftly.
“Follow my lead! We will head to the back of the western mountain range to obstruct the
enemy!”
With his treasured sword on his back and a spear in his hand, Cao Dingfeng turned around
and shouted instructions at the crowd following him.
Under his lead, eight cultivators with their dragon steeds rode as fast as lightning, crossing
mountains after mountains as though treading on plains.
Miao Yi, who trailed behind in last place, hated that he couldn’t just stab Charcoal to death
with his spear. At least if he were to run on his own two legs, then he might be better off.
Charcoal really gave him too much honor, making it seem like he was of a more craven
and cowardly mould than Yan Xiu. How would everyone in Transient Light Cave see him
now?
Yan Xiu had said that if you can’t win a fight then just surrender, but right now, what does
it imply if the war hasn’t even begun and you’re already running away? Taking a look at
Yan Xiu, although in his heart he has already made full preparations to surrender, at least
to anyone watching, he was now riding quickly to battle, so no one could make a
comment.
He was downright embarrassed to be in this place, but little did he know he had already
become Yuan Zhengkun’s scapegoat.
Li Xin’s stratagem was very simple; basically it was to make Yuan Zhengkun instigate the
others to meet the enemy head-on, while the three of them made their escape.
Afterwards, when the higher echelons investigated the matter, Yuan Zhengkun would have
an excuse ready at hand that would extricate himself from the responsibility of escaping
without fighting. He could then say that only three of them were lucky enough to survive
the attack, and even Cao Dingfeng, his trusted aide, had fallen in battle. It wasn’t due to a
lack of effort on his part to fight as if his life depended on it. On the contrary, Yang Qing
personally led his forces into the fray, and tried his best to fight. In the end he couldn’t
hold back the opposing forces at all. This was something everyone could understand.
Not only would he escape the responsibility of fleeing without going into battle, he would
use Cao Dingfeng to lead his men to cover his own retreat, and also help stall for enough
time for him to make his own escape.
The most important thing was, after knowing Yang Qing would personally lead his forces
forward, Yuan Zhengkun still dared to command his forces to meet the enemy in battle.
There was a strong possibility that his display of loyalty and bravery might be able to gain
the higher echelons’ praise and possibly turn a loss into a gain.
Since there were so many benefits to it, Yuan Zhengkun did not hesitate and went along
with Li Xin’s scheme.
Seven dragon steeds crossed over to the top of the western mountain range. Cao Dingfeng
saw that the base of the mountain revealed a wide open area alternating with the
mountains opposite of them. It was an appropriate location to face and deal heavy blows
to the enemy. He instantly waved the spear in his hand, pressing the troops to move
forward. Eventually he ordered everyone to hide amidst the dense forest halfway up the
mountain.
Everyone had been lying in wait for quite a period of time before Miao Yi finally arrived
on Charcoal, last to the scene and with a long look on his face.
Cao Dingfeng turned his head behind to cast a look at Charcoal underneath Miao Yi,
however he made no remarks.
Exactly at that moment, from within the mountain forest a dragon steed appeared,
swooping down from the mountain at great speed. A two-petaled white lotus appeared and
glowed faintly between the brows of the cultivator on top of the dragon steed. He glanced
left and right with his spear raised, keeping a close watch as he moved ahead throughout
the whole ride down.
The moment Cao Dingfeng saw him, he knew instantly that the man had come to open up
a path. It looked like the other party was being incredibly careful, therefore it didn’t matter
if they planned an ambush, it was already futile.
Upon reaching this conclusion, he looked around and asked left and right, “Kill one and
there will be one less. Who will go first to render a first-class merit?”
“I’ll go!” Luo Zhen answered without any form of hesitation. Wielding a long blade in her
hand, she rode the dragon steed and charged towards the bottom of the mountain.
“You….” Yan Xiu’s entire body froze, as he extended his hand to stop her, but to no avail.
Everyone was astounded, because they never expected that Madame Shi Xiang would be
the first one to set out.
Miao Yi was also surprised. He had listened to the things that Yan Xiu had incessantly
taught him, but apparently his wife had chosen to shut her ears instead.
Little did he know that Luo Zhen was sick and tired of people humiliating her by
addressing her as Madame Shi Xiang. All this time she had been suppressing her pent-up
anger.
Ever since the beginning, when Yuan Zhengkun had instigated everyone, Luo Zhen had
already hardened her heart. She really did feel weary of people humiliating her…
The dragon steed who was swooping down at a great speed gave an invigorating leap with
Luo Zhen in tow, both emerging from the mountain forest. It leapt up to a height of a
hundred metres in the air, with Luo Zhen screaming as she slanted towards the rushing
dragon steed still in the middle of opening a path.
The man was taken completely by surprise. Unable to turn back in time, he rapidly soared
upwards, twenty metres high from the dragon steed.
Usually cultivators would use two types of long and short weapons. The short weapon was
normally used for self-protection while the longer weapon would be used to face the
enemy when riding on a dragon steed.
He was also using a long blade. He soared into the air, delivering a strike with his blade to
the dragon steed descending from the sky. But after leaping into the air and witnessing
clearly the three-petaled White Lotus between Luo Zhen’s brows, he instantly became
frantic.
The screaming and approaching Luo Zhen had already lunged over with her blade to
deliver a strike in one rapid movement, parrying the blade which was coming straight at
her. Simultaneously, she locked the man in his spot with her transcendence energy.
His reaction speed slowed down significantly after being entangled by a higher level of
transcendence energy, his face already displaying a look of panic and horror.
Bang! The hard bones of Luo Zhen’s dragon steed collided head-on onto the man’s chest.
Puke! Fresh blood violently spurted from the man’s mouth, his chest already collapsed
inwards from the impact of the collision.
Why do cultivators love to mount dragon steeds? It was because this spiritual beast was of
extraordinary strength, could carry immense loads and had a terrifying impact force, so
huge, that even cultivators at the stage of Blue Lotus were afraid of getting rammed hard
by a matured dragon steed.
Particularly the dragon steed’s speed, when it galloped about wildly without any restraint,
even a cultivator at the stage of Blue Lotus would have difficulty in catching up to one.
Even if they did, they would only be able to do it within short distances. If the chase were
to last a longer time, they would definitely not be able to catch up to the dragon steed’s
speed and endurance.
Imagine under this degree of speed and strength, in addition to the cultivator’s
transcendence energy, the cultivator’s attack force would achieve almost double the effect.
With all these factors, the dragon steed naturally became the majority of cultivators’
favorite mount.
“Die!”
While the man spurted blood and collapsed, Luo Zhen violently shouted once more,
brandishing her blade high up to the sky, and slashed down through the rain of blood.
Luo Zhen leaped from her dragon steed and descended onto the ground. With the blade in
hand, she looked back at the mountainside where Cao Dingfeng and the others were at. In
one encounter, she had beheaded a White Lotus Second Grade cultivator.
Gusts of wind rose up suddenly through the mountain, the dark green grass undulating in
waves, all the more demonstrating Luo Zhen’s grandeur.
The dead cultivator’s dragon steed let out a mournful whine, galloping to its own master’s
corpse’s, unwilling to leave his side.
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 30

Miao Yi was rendered speechless as he glanced at Luo Zhen’s imposing presence,

trembling slightly at her overwhelming power.
He couldn’t help but be suspicious that a mere cultivator with a cultivation at White Lotus
Second Grade, couldn’t even withstand an attack from a cultivator at White Lotus Third
Grade. On that basis, since his cultivation was only White Lotus First Grade, wouldn’t he
just be throwing his life away if he ran out now?
Yan Xiu’s Adam’s apple quivered a few times. It seemed he too, didn’t know what else to
say.
At the mountainside, Cao Dingfeng revealed a smile, nodded his head and praised, “Good!
Next time anyone who dares to address her as ‘Madame Shi Xiang’ will be the same as
picking on me, Cao Dingfeng!” He glanced around and threw a warning at those behind
him.
At that exact moment, a strange sound was suddenly heard from the opposite mountain.
The crowd quickly looked in the direction of the sound, only to see five dragon steeds and
their riders. Similar to Luo Zhen, they leaped a hundred meters high with a woosh, and
then galloped towards the open field where Luo Zhen fought with only a blade and her
steed.
Yan Xiu’s grip tightened on his broad axes as Luo Zhen, in a state of shock, quickly urged
her steed to hastily dodge them.
“Attack!”
Cao Dingfeng coldly shouted, lifting his spear and charged ahead. The crowd immediately
followed suit behind him, racing downwards to rescue Luo Zhen.
Five out of seven mounts dashed out from the mountain forest, riding through the air and
into the battle. In an instant, both parties’ dragon steeds were sprinting to and fro, the
madly rushing transcendence energy stirring between them at the scene, killing everyone
in a life and death struggle. This sort of transcendence energy was filled with violence,
capable of suffocating ordinary people should they venture close.
Charcoal did not leap out in a flashy way, and instead kept slipping on its hooves
numerous times. It seemed to be slightly frightened as it slowly galloped to the foot of the
mountain.
Miao Yi could faintly feel the emotions transmitted from Charcoal; it appeared to be
saying it was scared, so how about finding a place to hide?
Miao Yi really wanted to lift his spear and stab this bastard to death. The most he was
thinking of was to surrender after the battle, and this guy was actually thinking of wanting
to flee before they even battled it out?
Similarly, Yan Xiu also held back from leaping out to join in the fight. Instead, he rode
next to Miao Yi. This was his usual style, safety always came first!
At the same time, he also pulled back Miao Yi, who seemed to him as slightly impulsive,
shaking his head at Charcoal beneath him.
Amidst this lifestyle of ceaseless slaughter, without the advantageous power of a dragon
steed, it would be impossible for one to defeat his opponents. The enemy would just ride
off with their dragon steed, coming and going like the wind. With Charcoal’s leg power
and speed? He would be sending himself to an early grave if he tried to pursue them.
An unusual movement was faintly seen coming from the distance, causing Yan Xiu to
quickly raise his head and look in the direction of the mountain peak opposite him. He
caught sight of a cold and elegant woman clad in a snowy white robe with a bow on her
back. She sat on top of a majestic dragon steed, its coat the color of a deep-red date fruit.
Her hand held a Serpent Lance, a symbol of a five-petaled white lotus bloomed between
her brows.
Behind her, standing side-by-side, were four cultivators mounted on dragon steeds. All of
them had a cultivation at White Lotus Third Grade.
“Qin Weiwei!” Yan Xiu’s pupils abruptly shrunk, all of a sudden crying out involuntarily,
“Sh*t! We’ve been used by Yuan Zhengkun!”
Being a man who was adept at surrendering, he was naturally skilled in this field and
instantly came to the realization that everyone had fallen into Yuan Zhengkun’s trap.
Wasn’t that Qin Weiwei? Wasn’t she going to split her forces into two flanks, and then
prepare to attack from the other side? Why is she here? Miao Yi also lifted his head and
gazed at the mountain peak across him. He hadn’t yet arrived at the same conclusion, not
realizing that they had been tricked by Yuan Zhengkun.
Yan Xiu did not have the time to explain further, he quickly transmitted his voice through
the usage of arts to Luo Zhen. But since she was at a scene of carnage, surrounded by
people being endlessly strangled to death by transcendence energy, using Arts to transmit
his voice had no effect at all.
Meanwhile, at the opposite mountain peak, the snowy-white-robed Qin Weiwei gently
lifted her finger, pointing towards the bottom of the mountain. The four mounted men
swiftly charged and leaped forwards in a flash, descending onto the midst of the
battlefield.
Cao Dingfeng and six others were surrounded on all sides, standing their ground against
nine foes; four of them were at White Lotus Third Grade, the other five at White Lotus
Second Grade.
Unfortunately for them, only Cao Dingfeng and Luo Zhen had a cultivation at White
Lotus Third Grade. The other four men, who were at the second grade, were instantly beat
down, leaving them all in a disadvantageous position.
They were all entangled in the battle, each of them wanting to break free but to no avail.
The enemy adopted an ingenious battle strategy. A cultivator at White Lotus Third Grade
withstood Cao Dingfeng. Three cultivators also at the third grade surrounded Luo Zhen,
suppressing her with violent attacks until her complexion turned deadly pale. She had
practically run out of strength, barely able to hold her ground anymore!
Yan Xiu’s chest heaved up and down with urgency, finally lifting the pair of broad axes in
his hands. Although he usually kept himself discreetly out of harm, now he had no other
choice but to throw himself forward and risk his life to rescue her.
The dragon steed underneath him barely went forward a step before abruptly coming to a
halt. Yan Xiu eyes widened at the scene happening before him.
Miao Yi’s eyes also widened. Charcoal’s four hooves stamped about in confusion, turning
extremely restless.
A spear was thrust into Luo Zhen’s back. She was in the middle of brandishing her blade
with both hands, fending off the spears stabbing towards her by a row of people. Before
she could even lower her gaze at the bloody spear tip piercing through her chest, a
cultivator at White Lotus Third Grade chased after and in one quick movement, slashed
off her head with one strike of his blade.
Blood sprayed everywhere from the headless corpse still sitting atop the speedily
galloping dragon steed.
The spear piercing through her chest was removed from her corpse. After the three White
Lotus Third Grade cultivators combined their forces to slaughter Luo Zhen, they quickly
turned their horses back and besieged Cao Dingfeng together.
Miao Yi eyes were cold as his gaze locked onto the cultivator who beheaded Luo Zhen,
gradually lifting the silver spear he gripped in his hand.
Neigh! Charcoal let out a long neigh as it faced the sky, both eyes staring at the fallen
corpse of Luo Zhen. It constantly snorted in agitation, its four hooves unceasingly plowing
the ground. It looked like it wanted to storm forward and breach the enemy ranks, its
behavior becoming incredibly violent and restless. Miao Yi could feel the wild emotions
transmitted from Charcoal.
However, Yan Xiu extended his hand, grabbing onto the fleshy feelers which connected
Charcoal and Miao Yi together. The fleshy feelers were a dragon steed’s most vulnerable
weakness.
He stopped Miao Yi from risking his life.
“Why?” Miao Yi turned back to stare at Yan Xiu and said with coldness, “They killed your
wife, don’t you wish to seek revenge?”
Yan Xiu shouted with a look of grief and indignation on his face, “They are too strong, we
won’t be able to avenge her! We will only be running headlong into our deaths if we
charge out like this! Only by saving ourselves will we have hope for revenge!”
What he said was right, but…all of a sudden, Cao Dingfeng let out a furious roar, “Yuan
Zhengkun!”
He had apparently also come to the realization that he had been set up by his leader, but it
was already too late. Besieged by four cultivators at White Lotus Third Grade, he realized
that he was unable to endure it any longer, but before he could shout surrender, with one
slash through the waist, he was cut in half, the upper half of his body flying into the air
still bellowing with rage.
Seeing that it was a losing battle, the two cultivators at White Lotus Second Grade, who
were lucky to survive this long, shouted surrender at once. They gave up resisting and
leaped off their dragon steeds, and were eventually captured, blades pressing against their
necks.
The victor had been decided, Qin Weiwei’s few subordinates glanced back at Yan Xiu and
Miao Yi shrunken at the sidelines, both not daring to move.
Right at that instant, on the opposite mountain peak, a wave of rustling sounds
reverberated through the air. With an astonishing air of grandeur, hundreds of cultivators
mounting dragon steeds appeared behind Qin Weiwei, swiftly lining up in a row.
Qin Weiwei turned around in a swift movement, facing towards a cultivator clad in silver
armor standing in the middle, who cupped his hands in greeting and bowed.
The silver armored cultivator was none other than Yang Qing, the Mountain Chieftain of
Mount Shaotai. With thick brows and large eyes, as well as an extraordinary might, he
faintly exuded an air of domination. He gazed attentively at the battlefield beneath him.
In actuality, Yang Qing and Miao Yi had once seen each other before, during the time
when Fairy Hong Chen had arrived at Ancient City. As a host, Yang Qing welcomed her
arrival, except at that time, Miao Yi was hiding in the old willow tree, and Yang Qing was
standing on top of the city walls. Both of them were only a short distance away from each
other, but sadly, they never met in person.
As soon as he saw the spectacle unfold, Yan Xiu hurriedly gave Miao Yi a push. He
immediately threw away his pair of broad axes, jumped from his horse with his hands
raised up high as he exclaimed, “I surrender!”
This was his eleventh time surrendering!

Chapter 30: Eleventh Surrender

 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 31: A Valiant Warrior Indeed (1)

Miao Yi did not bother about the number of men in the mountain peak across them. He
only stared at the torn upper body of Cao Dingfeng with a blank expression on his face,
still wriggling even after death, which had fallen onto the ground.
Ever since he left the mountain he’d cultivated in, he had made four friends; namely, Chen
Fei, Cao Dingfeng, Luo Zhen and Yan Xiu. And now two of them had actually died in
front of his eyes, and all he did was stand from afar looking on passively.
As he watched the deaths of the others, his emotions had barely stirred, but after seeing
the terrible deaths of his friends, who had always been looking after him, he was suddenly
struck with the extreme cruelty of the cultivation world!
Inside his heart, he furiously blamed himself for what he’d done. His younger siblings had
a great life going on for them, yet, he had sent them into such a dangerous place. How
could he now face both his foster parents’ spirits in heaven!
He had caused harm to his brother and sister. He had watched on helplessly as his friends,
who had taken such good care of him, suffer a horrible death and still, he did nothing!
He deserved to die!
Miao Yi sentenced himself to death in his heart, lifting the silver spear he gripped in his
hand. He pointed it at the murderers in front of him!
“What the hell are you doing? Quick, surrender!”
Yan Xiu kept shouting at him but didn’t get a reaction from Miao Yi. Instead, he saw the
expression on Miao Yi’s face becoming more and more malevolent, a one-petaled white
lotus emerging between his brows, glowing faintly. He immediately dashed over with the
intention of dragging Miao Yi down.
But Miao Yi pointed with his spear, its sharp spear tip pushing against Yan Xiu’s chest, as
he said in a low voice, “Move!”
The people high above and at the base of the mountain were staring at this interesting
move Miao Yi was making.
“Kill!” Miao Yi stuck out the spear and thundered.
Neigh! All of a sudden, Charcoal emitted a plaintive cry, rearing its forelegs up in the air.
Once its forelegs landed back on the ground, it immediately bolted forwards in a flash, its
speed as quick as lightning.
Yan Xiu was stunned beyond measure; he had never seen Charcoal burst out into such a
fast speed before.
On the mountaintop, the silver-armored Yang Qing was slightly amazed, not because of
Miao Yi’s display of bravery, but of Charcoal whom Miao Yi was mounting. “He’s riding
a dragon steed?”
Someone laughed. “I thought it was a huge wild boar.”
Everyone exploded into laughter, never in their lives had they seen such a fat dragon
steed. How could a dragon steed, that was supposed to be adept at running, become fat to
this extent?
At the bottom of the mountain, the few cultivators still in the battlefield locked their gazes
onto the quickly approaching Miao Yi with expressions filled with disdain. A cultivator at
White Lotus First Grade dared to charge up here, where anyone pulled at random from
their group would be, at the very least, at White Lotus Second Grade.
Everyone looked as if they were watching a dying man—naturally, those who refuse to
surrender would only be killed!
Cultivators at White Lotus Third Grade felt they were above fighting Miao Yi. One
amongst them made a signal, and a cultivator at White Lotus Second Grade was forced to
rush out, reluctantly carrying his spear.
Both of them charged towards each other at great speed.
When Charcoal saw the man who murdered Luo Zhen charging out, traces of blood
appeared in its eyes as its speed increased once more, becoming faster than ever before.
Yan Xiu stared at the sight, his eyes widened into circles.
The sound of a clang!
Both of them collided together. The eyes of the cultivator at White Lotus Second Grade
grew wide and large; the transcendence energy he exerted had apparently not stopped
Miao Yi’s movements.
At that instant they collided, Miao Yi did not waste any unnecessary movements when
extending his spear out. With a slight flick, he deflected the tip of the enemy’s incoming
weapon, then seized that chance to thrust his spear forwards.
This was a spear trained in the rough waves heaving to the skies. This was a spear trained
for years under a waterfall. This was a spear which was often brandished; it had been
thoroughly mastered and understood as a result of destroying countless mountain stones,
people, Arts and even more spears.
Lao Bai said his training was only so-so, thus exchanging his wooden spear with the real
deal should have some overpowering force.
With a swift attack, the spear tip drilled into the chest of the Second Grade cultivator, his
eyes flashing with disbelief.
As the two dragon steeds passed each other, he sent the other cultivator flying with his
spear. He brandished the spear, dragging the corpse along the ground with a single strike.
Blood burst from the body as it tumbled backward beneath them.
Miao Yi held the spear again, as he rushed towards the enemy’s camp.
Everyone in the mountain went silent, a cultivator with only a cultivation at White Lotus
First Grade had quickly killed a cultivator at White Lotus Second Grade?
Qin Weiwei’s brows creased slightly; it was blatantly obvious that her subordinate was
incredibly useless.
The silver-armored Yang Qing had a gleam in his eyes; he was beginning to focus his
attention on Miao Yi in a serious manner.
Two cultivators at White Lotus Second Grade rushed out of the camp, directly charging
towards Miao Yi to intercept and kill him.
The two cultivators’ faces twisted in anger at the thought of their comrade being killed in a
humiliating manner. They rushed over to trap and attack Miao Yi from both sides, unable
to gauge how powerful he was.
He lifted the spear!
In one sudden movement, Miao Yi thrust the spear tip towards the ground, using it to lift
up a boulder, before charging towards the two men with the boulder resting on the spear
tip.
When the two sides collided with each other, Miao Yi retracted the spear and sent it
piercing out again.
With a bang, the boulder was smashed into a lump of dust, the crushed stones shooting out
towards the two men who were approaching.
This kind of attack would have easily killed a mortal, but it was useless when used against
the two men as the stones couldn’t even break through their shields manifested from
transcendence energy.
The two men waved their spears and an unseen force immediately cleared away the
annoying incoming crushed stones.
But once the crushed stones disappeared from their sight, they discovered that Miao Yi
was nowhere to be found on the quickly approaching dragon steed. However, they could
hear the sounds of something in the air, flying over them with a whoosh.
He’s above us! Both of them lifted their heads and looked towards the sky at almost the
same time, only to be greeted by the sight of a slightly larger crushed stone flying across
their heads.
As they were looking upwards, Charcoal charged in between the two mounts, and
suddenly two spears thrust out from its sides, angled upwards from below. The spears
pierced into the two cultivators’ chest, right through their armpits, sending both of them
flying off their mounts.
The two spears dragged the two figures against the ground, instantly causing two patches
of blood to spurt out. The figure holding the two spears flipped over quickly from under
Charcoal’s abdomen—it was Miao Yi. The extra spear was picked up from the ground, it
didn’t matter who it belonged to.
During such a brief assault, a cultivator at White Lotus First Grade had already
slaughtered three White Lotus Second Grade cultivators, leaving everyone stupefied.
If he had killed one, that could be passed off as sheer luck. But, killing three of them
consecutively, that wouldn’t be considered as pure luck anymore. It could be said he was
well-endowed with both bravery and wisdom!
Swish! Miao Yi suddenly waved his arm, hurling out a spear directly into the enemy’s
camp towards the man who killed Luo Zhen, challenging the man by name.
A White Lotus Third Grade cultivator captured the incoming spear tip with his hand and
casually threw it away. The dragon steed he was riding violently bolted out, as he raised
his long saber and pointed it at Miao Yi.
Bang!
A trembling sound rang out, the spear and saber crossed swords in a flash. Blood spurted
out from Miao Yi’s mouth, the webbing between his thumb and forefinger broke, and his
body shook violently. He was almost sent flying out by the impact of the tremor.
The difference between his cultivation base and the White Lotus Third Grade cultivator
was too far apart, it wasn’t something that he could withstand. An entire body of
transcendence energy had easily dealt a blow on him, and he was nearly defeated by the
tremors alone.
But a strange thing happened. When the two mounts passed by each other, Charcoal
suddenly tilted its head, revealing a mouth filled with rows of sharp jagged white teeth. It
bit onto the cultivator’s leg, and before the cultivator could react, it pulled the cultivator,
who was busy fighting with Miao Yi, down from the saddle.
Not for anything else, but because this guy had used his saber to cut down Luo Zhen’s
head. Charcoal remembered this very well.
Miao Yi would never waste such an opportunity. He exerted his entire strength and broke
through the enemy’s transcendence energy shield with his spear, the raging spear tip
penetrating into the other man’s heart.
Luckily, Miao Yi’s reaction was quick; otherwise Charcoal would have been crippled. In
his attempt to quickly save himself, the cultivator who was suddenly attacked by Charcoal
tried to slash down his saber towards the dragon steed’s rear buttocks. If Miao Yi had not
thrust his spear in the nick of time, that would have been the end of it, half of its buttocks
and hind leg were for sure going to be cut down together.
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 32: A Valiant Warrior Indeed (2)

Still, it did leave a bloody scar on Charcoal’s rear.

Charcoal, in pain, abruptly went astray from his course of direction, but after circling for a
round, it soon came to a stop under Miao Yi’s urging. Currently, they were facing in the
direction of the enemy’s camp.
WIth blood hanging from his lips, Miao Yi gripped the spear and lifted up the White Lotus
Third Grade cultivator, displaying his prowess to the people in the mountains!
Anyone could tell Miao Yi was absolutely no match for the White Lotus Third Grade
cultivator, but who would have thought that the fat dragon steed would actually assist in
the fight. It happened too quickly, and in the process caused everyone’s eyes to almost pop
out of their sockets onto the ground.
The person who had earlier ridiculed Charcoal as a huge wild boar, also couldn’t help but
stare at the fat dragon steed, revealing a covetous look on his face. It didn’t matter if the
steed was ugly—as long as it was useful, it would be valued.
Quite a number of people appeared to be setting their sights on Charcoal, only waiting for
Miao Yi’s death.
Yan Xiu was shocked as he stood there blankly, but nobody was paying any attention to
him right now. Their attention was all focused on Miao Yi and Charcoal.
Qin Weiwei scowled, her expression unsightly. Her subordinates consisted of four White
Lotus Third Grade cultivators and six White Lotus Second Grade cultivators, and already
four of them had been completely wiped out by a kid only at White Lotus First Grade.
One could imagine what her current mood was like now.
“Get me his dragon steed!” Qin Weiwei let out a cold hmph; she was plainly asking her
subordinates what were they still waiting for?
Three White Lotus Third Grade cultivators and two White Lotus Second Grade cultivators
immediately charged out, urging their dragon steeds forwards. It could even be said that
each and every single one of them felt furious from the embarrassment they suffered. And
not only had they been greatly humiliated, they suffered it in front of Yang Qing. Each and
every single one of them were dying to swallow Miao Yi alive.
With a shake of his spear, the pierced corpse split in half and sprayed out a rain of blood,
revitalizing Miao Yi as he was bathed in the corpse’s blood. Charcoal, who was
underneath him, turned around and fled.
Five cultivators gave chase on their dragon steed, with the ensuing hunt consisting of him
running at the front and five chasing from the back.
Charcoal’s rear wound did not seem to affect it. Instead, it ran faster and faster with
shocking speed. Despite its oversized body, it ran faster than the dragon steeds of the other
five cultivators, widening the distance between them.
Yan Xiu was in a state of disbelief, was this still the same Charcoal he had known for
years?
Miao Yi did not run away, instead he led the five cultivators circling behind him on a
merry chase around the open field.
They wanted to catch up but couldn’t, and the distance between them kept getting further
and further apart. They became worried of the slight chance that Miao Yu would get away,
and in an abrupt move, one of them rushed out and attacked, hoping to intercept Miao Yi
midway. Another cultivator changed course in order to obstruct his path, running in the
other direction to face Miao Yi as he circled around once more.
However, this was the result Miao Yi had wanted all along. If the five of them combined
forces against him, he absolutely wouldn’t have a hope of winning. His only resort was to
separate them. If he ended up dying, then he would take a few sacrificial lambs down with
him; if he could kill one more, then that would be good too.
Facing a White Lotus Third Grade cultivator that rushed towards him straight on, Miao Yi
raised his spear and charged, his face a mask of ferocity.
With his previous experience against a White Lotus Third Grade cultivator, he did not
attempt to fight fire with fire, instead he fought with his life on the line!
Immediately after they faced each other in combat, Miao Yi’s opponent understood right
away the reason behind a White Lotus First Grade’s ability to kill four people in a row. He
definitely hadn’t managed it out of sheer luck!
Relying on his strengthened cultivation alone to pressure his opponent, he discovered that
he was unable to suppress the opponent’s reaction speed. It was simply inconceivable.
Wouldn’t people normally rely on their profound cultivation base to suppress and beat
down their opponent? But the opponent resembled a fish in the sea, he seemed able to
swim in the ocean of transcendence energy. Not only that, he could still perform a
counterattack under the enormous pressure inflicted on him!
Miao Yi faced the stronger enemy’s deadly strike head-on, and did not attempt to dodge or
defend. He knew he wouldn’t be able to withstand the attack just on his cultivation base
alone. They might as well stab each other and then die together!
No one was willing to play a dangerous game like this with him. Instead, the opponent
was forced to quickly defend himself. In addition, the moment they brushed past each
other, the opponent would still need to be vigilant against Charcoal’s personal ambush.
On the open land, six dragon steeds chased each other in an endless circle, repetitively
going to and fro, assaulting each other at close quarters.
At this point, everyone was a little unclear as to who was hunting down who. In any case,
no one was able to block Miao Yi. The people who were obviously trying to intercept him,
instead became flustered the moment they ran into him. This made it seem like Miao Yi
was the one who was brutally attacking the five higher leveled cultivators.
The scene was spectacular to look at, but was something practically unheard of before
this. There were five White Lotus cultivators, three at Third grade and two at Second
Grade!
An hour passed, and the chase was still ongoing, with the five cultivators unable to catch
this guy at a mere White Lotus First Grade level. The crowd on the mountain were unable
to restrain themselves from looking at each other in dismay.
Yang Qing, clad in full silver armor, let his gaze follow the desperately fighting Miao Yi,
revealing a look of admiration that he couldn’t quite mask. He then exclaimed in approval,
“A valiant warrior indeed. Given time, when his cultivation base grows higher, he will
definitely be an excellent choice as one of the protectors for the domain. What has that
Yuan Zhengkun—too afraid to show his face—done to merit such a subordinate to fight
his battles for him?”
The instant he said that, the already disgraced Qin Weiwei gritted her teeth, swiftly
grabbing the bow she carried on her back. Simultaneously nocking three feathered arrows
on the bow-string, she drew back her bow, fed her transcendence energy into them, and set
her target at Miao Yi.
Yang Qing shot a glance at her, abruptly shouting, “Stop!”
With the exertion of his transcendence energy, his voice rumbled and reverberated
between the ravines.
When he began to speak, Qin Weiwei turned back to look at him. She slowly lowered the
bow in her hands. Even the five cultivators, who were locked in their chase, were too
afraid to disobey his orders; they immediately turned their steeds around and returned.
Miao Yi pulled Charcoal to a stop, raising his eyes to look in the direction of the
mountaintop.
Yang Qing kept his eyes locked onto Miao Yi, producing a rumbling and reverberating
voice. “Who goes there, what is your name?”
Miao Yi hoisted his spear at the mountaintop towards Yang Qing, similarly invoking his
arts and bellowing furiously, “Miao Yi is here, who dares to fight me!”
The voice shook the entire range of mountains, filling the sky with his wrath, an ordinary
man without fear.
His fearless, resolute words only served to fill Yang Qing’s eyes with barely concealed
respect.
Lifting his hand, he pointed two joined fingers at Miao Yi at the foot of the mountain and
replied, “Miao Yi, if you surrender to me, I will give you the Cave Master seat of
Transient Light Cave!”
A storm of protest broke out amongst the crowd when he finished; letting a White Lotus
First Grade cultivator become a Cave Master?
The guy who had called Charcoal a wild boar immediately reminded him in a low voice,
“Mountain Chieftain, he only has a cultivation at White Lotus First Grade.”
“It will be alright as long as he can convince the masses!” Yang Qing lightly dismissed his
protest and everyone else immediately went silent.
Who knew Miao Yi would show ingratitude towards the offer, continuing to point his
spear at Yang Qing as he shouted in anger, “Who dares to fight me?”
Everyone realized that this kid was either a lunatic or was seriously trying to court death,
even refusing the marbled meat position of Cave Master that was presented to him.
Yang Qing glanced at Qin Weiwei below and said calmly, “Capture him alive.”
Qin Weiwei, dressed in robes as white as snow, immediately charged downwards, gripping
the Serpent Lance as she soared high up into the sky on her dragon steed, before
descending down into the open field. She pointed the lance at Miao Yi with a blank
expression on her face, evidently she was too lazy to say a word to him.
“Die!” Miao Yi straightened his spear, hurriedly rushing out towards her.
But Qin Weiwei’s cultivation was on an entirely different level of power compared to her
underlings. She proceeded to point with her straightened lance and an unseen force,
equivalent to that of a sledgehammer, hammered against Miao Yi’s chest.
It was an attack that had been materialized purely out of transcendence energy. Amidst the
White Lotus cultivation realm, the cultivation at White Lotus Fifth Grade was the line of
distinction. Only cultivators with a cultivation base that had broken through to White
Lotus Fifth Grade or higher would be able to congeal their arts into a tangible form. It
couldn’t be compared to the few fireball tricks Miao Yi invoked at the seaside. In the end
they were just mere tricks, which had little to no effect when used against cultivators who
were guarded by their transcendence energy. Indeed, the attack that Qin Weiwei delivered
was a genuine transcendence energy attack.
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 33: Surrender

“Splurt!” Miao Yi violently spat out a mouthful of blood. He flew backwards, tumbling a
few times as he landed.
Charcoal, who bolted to his side, was stabbed deeply on its rear, with Qin Weiwei rotating
the head of the spear around. In pain, Charcoal let out a weird, loud yelp and fled.
With blood trickling out of the corner of his mouth, Miao Yi leaned on his spear for
support, staggering as he slowly stood up from the ground.
Qin Weiwei leisurely trotted her dragon steed to the front of Miao Yi, the tip of the
Serpent Lance in her hand pressing onto his chest. In an indifferent tone, she then said,
“Surrender or no?”
In the face of defeat, Miao Yi’s eyes were filled with fury as he glared at her. He had the
look of someone who would rather die than submit.
A cold smile appeared on Qin Weiwei’s face, about to teach him another lesson.
“Surrender! He surrenders!”
Yan Xiu screamed as he ran to their side, supporting Miao Yi with his hands while
nodding his head repetitively as he said, “He surrenders!”
He was unaware that Yang Qing had commanded that Miao Yi be captured alive. In fact,
Yan Xiu was worried Miao Yi would be killed by her.
Qin Weiwei did not pay any attention to him at all. She only stared at Miao Yi as she
asked expressionlessly, “Surrender, yes or no?”
Although Yang Qing had told her to capture him alive, he never said she couldn’t give this
brat a hard time.
A few of her subordinates had died at the hands of Miao Yi, so she wanted to take this
chance to exact her revenge.
Yan Xiu was beginning to panic. At once, he invoked his arts and transmitted his voice to
Miao Yi, “Brother, your parents gave birth to you and raised you not for the sake of
throwing your life away! Just surrender! Where there is life, there is still hope!”
Miao Yi’s gaze was still locked onto Qin Weiwei, the corner of his mouth twitched
furiously as blood trickled down. The mention of ‘parents’ from Yan Xiu’s mouth made
him remember his foster parents who had treated him with kindness, as well as his
younger siblings…
He still had no idea how his little brother and sister were faring right now…
“I surrender!”
Miao Yi abruptly gripped the spear and stabbed it ruthlessly into the ground, letting out a
mournful roar as he looked up into the sky.
He hadn’t managed to avenge Luo Zhen and Cao Dingfeng, and yet he surrendered. A
remorseful feeling of grief and indignation filled him wholeheartedly. He had never before
thirsted to raise his own strength like he had today!
If he did not improve his strength, what could he even do if he found his younger siblings?
As an older brother, would he have the ability to protect them?
The heartfelt cry contained in the word ‘surrender’ made Qin Weiwei’s heartstrings quiver
indescribably, her icy cold gaze hesitant. After she cautiously eyed Miao Yi up and down,
she slowly moved the head of the Serpent Lance away from Miao Yi’s chest.
Yang Qing, on the mountaintop, led a crowd of people charging down the mountain,
rushing swiftly towards the direction of the Transient Light Cave. Miao Yi had forcefully
held up a lot of people for a considerable period of time.
But Yan Xiu on the other hand, still trembled slightly with fear. He was called by someone
to accompany Yang Qing’s side.
Not for any other reason, but because anyone with a pair of eyes could tell that Miao Yi
had initially preferred to die rather than surrender, but he was then persuaded by Yan Xiu
to submit in the end.
Yang Qing felt it was a little strange, since he and Miao Yi were total strangers and did not
have a past blood feud between them. Yet, he showed no hesitation in putting up a fight to
such a degree. Unless Miao Yi had a special relationship with Yuan Zhengkun, and
therefore was this loyal and devoted to him? He figured they had no such special
relationship, since there wasn’t a high possibility that Yuan Zhengkun would accept a
White Lotus First Grade cultivator to join Transient Light Cave.
After some questioning, he found out that Miao Yi and Yuan Zhengkun weren’t especially
close and had only seen Yuan Zhengkun twice after arriving to Transient Light Cave for
more than a year. Not only that, Yuan Zhengkun had been hard on him, giving him the
mere role of a Horse Deputy to do menial jobs.
And Yuan Zhengkun also had nothing to do with Miao Yi joining Transient Light Cave. It
was merely because of a referral from another and the fact that he had gotten in through
Cao Dingfeng—the man had taken care of Miao Yi and therefore he had fought without
restraint when Cao Dingfeng was slaughtered.
Truth be told, Yan Xiu believed that the murder of his wife, Luo Zhen was one of the most
important factors. Although Miao Yi had been at Transient Light Cave for more than a
year, he wasn’t as close to Cao Dingfeng when compared to both him and his wife. The
reason why he rushed over to help Miao Yi surrender was because he felt deeply moved
by him.
However from the beginning to the end, Yan Xiu neglected to inform Yang Qing about the
husband and wife relationship between him and Luo Zhen, as tenth surrender and eleventh
surrender wasn’t something that was nice to listen to.
Yang Qing slightly nodded his head, this time asking about Charcoal, who was as fat as a
pig.
After becoming aware of Charcoal’s nature from before, it was hard for Yang Qing to keep
a straight face and he indeed erupted into laughter. Back then, Charcoal was purely as lazy
as a pig, which was why it turned out to be as fat as one. This time around, the reason why
the steed had charged out was because its previous Horse Deputy, who had treated it well,
had fallen in battle. Indeed, it was truly a special dragon steed.
But with this, Yang Qing then understood a certain truth—that Miao Yi hadn’t exactly
been welcome at Transient Light Cave before this. Obviously, that Cao Dingfeng didn’t
think much of Miao Yi either, otherwise why didn’t he help Miao Yi choose a more proper
dragon steed? Miao Yi had risked his life to this extent only because of a mere debt he
owed to Cao Dingfeng for being treated well.
Yang Qing gave a slight wave of his hand, dismissing Yan Xiu. At the same time, he cast a
calculating glance at the devastated Miao Yi, who trailed behind Qin Weiwei’s squadron.
Since Miao Yi was now grouped as a prisoner who suffered a defeat under Qin Weiwei’s
formation, naturally he would be placed under Qin Weiwei’s watch for the time-being.
Since a mere debt was enough to make him act like this, could it be that he, Yang Qing,
would not be able to surpass what Cao Dingfeng gave?
The corner of Yang Qing’s lips curled into a knowing grin, as he mumbled under his
breath, “Things money can’t buy…”
He very much admired and liked Miao Yi.
The more ambitious and ruthless a character was, the more he loved to subdue loyal and
brave warriors, as this kind of subordinate would make him feel at ease when put to use.
Since he was able to subdue that person, then that person would give his life up for him in
the future, the same as he did today.
Even though Yuan Zhengkun’s cultivation was quite high, he only knew how to flee when
matters arose. He, Yang Qing, would rather exchange two Yuan Zhengkuns to obtain a
subordinate like Miao Yi. It was alright that his cultivation base was slightly lacking, as he
would be able to improve it after ample time was given. Not only that, Miao Yi had
already displayed an impressive side of him which was worthy to be nurtured. Even if he
couldn’t become Yang Qing’s own trusted general, he could still be kept at his side as a
reliable aide for his own use.
The crowd of people rushing over to Transient Light Cave brought to mind a dove
occupying a magpie’s nest. Yang Qing and his men did not plan to stay there, and only
lingered about for a while. Since the land was recently claimed by them, it was impossible
for them to not give it a look at least.
But a squadron of vanguard forces had already been dispatched earlier on to attack the
bordering East Arrival Cave, the place where Miao Yi had disembarked previously after
travelling by sea. It was also the place where Chen Fei currently lived.
Outside the Transient Light Grand Hall, the respective Cave Masters of Mount Shaotai,
along with Lan Yumen’s disciples, leapt off their dragon steeds one after another upon
arrival. After they entrusted their mounts to their attendants, they ran towards the
Transient Light Grand Hall straight away.
Afterwards the Cave Master of Changfeng Cave, Xiong Xiao, led his men to inspect the
surroundings of Transient Light Cave. Soon he also arrived outside the Transient Light
Grand Hall, leaping off his dragon steed.
Changfeng City fell under Changfeng Cave’s protection, it was also the location of Miao
Yi’s old home.
When he entrusted his mount to his handmaiden, Dong Xue’s care, Xiong Xiao discovered
that one of the two personal handmaidens was nowhere to be found, so he spoke
thoughtlessly, “This isn’t the time to be wandering around. Where did Chun Xue go?”
Handmaiden Dong Xue pointed towards a lithe figure within the waterside pavilion, she
was about to speak and then faltered.
His personal handmaidens had followed him for a long time so Xiong Xiao was able to
tell with a glance that there must be a hidden reason. He strode over to the arch bridge and
went straight into the waterside pavilion. There, he was greeted by the sight of the
handmaiden Chun Xue sobbing, while leaning on the parapet with her back facing him.
He couldn’t help but crease his brows and said, “Chun Xue.”
Hearing the voice, handmaiden Chun Xue quickly wiped her tears away before turning
around, revealing her beautiful, tear-stained and tender face. Forcing herself to smile, she
made a bow in salute as she said, “Cave Master.”
Xiong Xiao surveyed the surrounding area and asked, “What happened?”
Chun Xue tried her best to force a grin, shaking her head as she replied, “There’s nothing.
Sand got in my eyes.”
What a joke. Normally, the handmaidens selected to be by the Cave Master’s side were
women who had the aptitude for cultivation. They were meant to be stationed by their
side, acting as a personal confidant to be nurtured in the long term. Naturally, Xiong
Xiao’s handmaidens were no exception. Currently the two handmaidens by his side were
already with a cultivation at White Lotus First Grade, so how was it even possible for
ordinary sand to get into her eyes?
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 34: An Old Friend From Changfeng

However, they weren’t merely handmaidens, or even just trusted aides; they were often
partners in bed as well. There weren’t many masters in existence who could restrain
themselves from putting their hands on the delicate beauties at their side.
A person who was both personal and intimate, how could he not see that she had worries
on her mind? Xiong Xiao extended his hand and lifted her chin, his eyes looking at her
lovely and pitiful face and asked in a deep voice, “Did someone bully you? Tell me, I will
give you justice.”
He, Xiong Xiao had a cultivation at White Lotus Ninth Grade. If he weren’t a subordinate
serving under the mighty, powerful Yang Qing, he already had the qualifications to be a
Mountain Chieftain himself. Once all matters concerning this war were resolved, he would
inevitably be given the position of a Mountain Chieftain. Not only that, he was also one of
Yang Qing’s most trusted subordinates, so he had the qualifications to make such a
statement.
Chun Xue shook her head and replied, “No.”
Xiong Xiao pinched her chin, using a tone which did not allow any room for evasion as he
forcefully demanded, “Tell me!”
A heartbroken look broke out on Chun Xue’s face. She bit her lips for a moment, before
beginning to say, “Mountain Chieftain…”
“Mountain Chieftain?” Xiong Xiao was alarmed by her words.
If Yang Qing, the Mountain Chieftain had truly laid a hand on his woman, then he himself
had no choice but to swallow his protests for now.
But immediately after, he sensed something was amiss since Mountain Chieftain Yang
Qing was not a lascivious man. He had long heard that Yang Qing already had someone he
held an unrequited love for, except that there was a vast difference in status and
background so he could not fulfill his longings. The majority of Yang Qing’s great
accomplishments were done for the sake of that beautiful woman, so he absolutely took no
notice of other women. This made it impossible for him to lay a hand on his trusted
subordinate’s woman, unless there was another reason for it?
Loosening his grip on Chun Xue’s chin, he tested the waters and asked, “What did you do
wrong? Were you reprimanded by Mountain Chieftain?”
Chun Xue knew that he was misunderstanding the situation, so she promptly waved her
hand and said, “Mountain Chieftain would never bother with a small handmaiden like
me.”
Xiong Xiao also thought as such. Curious, he asked, “Then what is the reason?”
Chun Xue revealed a bittered look and replied, “Cave Master, please do not ask anymore.
The man is already highly favored by Mountain Chieftain so I do not want to pursue the
matter any longer. Also, I don’t wish to bring trouble to Cave Master by being blamed by
Mountain Chieftain.”
So it was a different person after all. Xiong Xiao’s facial expression darkened. Serving
under Yang Qing, he had never truly been scared of anyone apart from Yang Qing himself.
He coldly asked, “I would like to know who had the audacity to touch my woman, tell
me!”
Seeing that he was set on pursuing it to the end, Chun Xue knew the truth could not be
hidden anymore. Her Cave Master’s imposing presence also did not allow her to hide the
truth. So with her face covered, she broke out into weeping sobs and exclaimed, “Miao
Yi!”
“Miao Yi?” Xiong Xiao froze, unable to recall a person with that name within the ranked
groups controlled by Mountain Chieftain Yang Qing. But he swiftly came to a sudden
realization and exclaimed, “It’s that Miao Yi who recently surrendered? As a man who
yielded, he dared to anger you?”
He was a little unconvinced. That Miao Yi had suffered a defeat under the battle formation
of Qin Weiwei, so he should be restricted by Qin Weiwei right now. Where would he get
the chance to bully his own handmaiden? He reckoned they did not even have the chance
to meet face to face, unless there was another man with the same name?
Tears streamed down Chun Xue’s face as she explained, “Has Cave Master forgotten the
terrible death my brother suffered? In that year, we couldn’t find any trace of the killer in
Changfeng City, but who could have thought that ten years after the incident, I finally get
to meet him here!”
It turned out that this Chun Xue wasn’t just anyone; she was none other than Huang Yue,
the daughter of Head Guard Huang who he’d gifted to the Immortal to act as a
handmaiden. She was also Huang Cheng’s sister.
In the beginning, when she first saw Miao Yi and the other captured men fighting to the
death, she had yet to recognize him. Although in her earlier years, due to the fact that they
were neighbors, she had seen Miao Yi before, it had already been many years since then
and Miao Yi was no longer the juvenile youth he was at that time. His appearance had
gone through a huge transformation, so she couldn’t remember him at first sight.
It wasn’t until the name ‘Miao Yi’ personally flowed out of his mouth, a name which was
imprinted into her very bones, and only then was she struck by terror. It roused the past
events and she was able to distinguish vaguely from between Miao Yi’s brows that he was
the neighbor at Changfeng City at that time. The same killer who had murdered her own
little brother.
Xiong Xiao was stunned beyond measure. Of course he knew about the incident. At that
time, Chun Xue was heartbroken because of it for a long time. He himself personally
urged the City Lord of Changfeng City to do everything in his power to arrest the killer,
all in order to comfort Chun Xue. Except at that time, the kid ran away too quick so they
couldn’t seize him on time.
He was more or less bewildered and doubtful as he asked, “You are certain that this Miao
Yi is the same killer who murdered your brother?”
Chun Xue choked with sobs as she nodded her head in reply. “Yes, that’s him. Even if he
turned to ashes, I would still recognize him. It’s been so long since the incident has passed,
Chun Xue does not wish to bother about it anymore. Simply when I remember my poor
brother, Chun Xue still finds it difficult to bear the great sorrow in my heart.”
As she continued to grieve, she quietly eyed the Cave Master’s reaction.
Xiong Xiao went silent. If this was a normal situation, he could just attack directly and
murder a White Lotus First Grade cultivator since it wasn’t too much of a big deal. The
issue now was that Miao Yi had already entered the Mountain Chieftain Yang Qing’s
transcendence vision, and was obviously highly favored by him. So it would not be easy
for him to act recklessly. If due to this, he made Yang Qing lose face, it would not bring
any good to him either.
“For this matter, I have my own plans. I will definitely give you justice.”
Xiong Xiao patted her back comfortingly, both of them soon leaving the waterside
pavilion together.
But as luck would have it, just as they arrived outside the Grand Hall, the expressionless
Qin Weiwei happened to approach them with Miao Yi in tow.
Xiong Xiao took the initiative and folded his hands at Qin Weiwei. Although his
cultivation was much higher than Qin Weiwei’s, she was the adopted daughter of Yang
Qing. She was an orphan, picked up by Yang Qing in his earlier years by the roadside.
Since infancy, she was kept and raised by Yang Qing’s side, so QIn Weiwei was
considered to be Yang Qing’s most trusted amongst all his trusted aides. He, Xiong Xiao,
was better off not disrespecting her.
Qin Weiwei returned the salutation, and led Miao Yi up the stairs of Transient Light Hall.
Yang Qing wanted to meet Miao Yi.
Xiong Xiao’s flickering and doubtful eyes circled around Miao Yi’s face, eventually
dropping his gaze onto Chun Xue’s face, who was silently biting her lips.
Miao Yi had also seen Chun Xue. Although the two used to be neighbors and he had
known the Chun Xue from earlier years, Chun Xue had only been fifteen years of age
when she was sent away to become an Immortal’s handmaiden. The Chun Xue now was
close to thirty years of age. As the saying goes, a woman changes eighteen times before
reaching adulthood, the changes were greater when compared to men. Miao Yi didn’t
recognize her, and the thought of her being Head Guard Huang’s daughter would have
never crossed his mind.
Xiong Xiao did not say anything, and left Chun Xue behind as he ran straight towards the
Transient Light Grand Hall.
Chun Xue was not qualified enough to enter when the Mountain Chieftain was discussing
official business, so she could only go to the place where attendants stayed in.
Inside the grand hall, Yang Qing was seated above all. Every respective Cave Master of
Mount Shaotai, along with Lan Yumen’s disciples, stood divided on two sides. After
Xiong Xiao saluted and bowed to Yang Qing, he threw a glance at Miao Yi, who stood
alone in the middle of the grand hall, before returning to stand at his own designated
position.
“Are the wounds on your body serious?”
Yang Qing, seated high and wearing armor and a helmet, looked down at Miao Yi who
stood below, wearing a grin on his face as he asked warmly.
Miao Yi cupped his bloodstained hands, where the webbing between his thumb and
forefinger had split open, revealing a raw wound, and replied, “Not at all.”
The superior Yang Qing dismissed his words with a laugh, and flipped his palm over, the
storage ring on his middle finger flashed with a glimmer. A nine red stone branch and nine
gem leaves levitated in his palm, with specks of starlight floating around it, looking
extremely beautiful.
Miao Yi was not foreign to the item. It was the Glorious Star immortal herb.
He saw Yang Qing open his mouth to blow at the specks of starlight on top of the red
stone branches and gem leaves. They immediately turned into two wisps of starry clouds,
floating towards Miao Yi’s hands.
Stunned, the blown specks of starlight had adhered to the wound where the flesh could be
seen in the webbing. A pleasant feeling, with a slight chill, swiftly spread from the wounds
on both of his hands. As the specks of starlight gradually permeated into the wounds, the
split webbings on both hands could be seen making a speedy recovery.
With no more than a moment of effort, the wounds had already recovered to its original
unharmed state, causing a great shock to Miao Yi. Everyone had said the Glorious Star
immortal herb was revered as a priceless treasure—a divine healing medicine by the
cultivation world. Yet, he hadn’t expected the effects to be this unimaginable.
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 35: Charcoal Wrecks Havoc (1)

When the specks of starlight on the red stone branches and gem leaves finally reappeared
again, Yang Qing opened his mouth to blow another mouthful of air. A wisp of starry
clouds floated from the red stone branches and gem leaves, directly entering Miao Yi’s
nostrils.
As the specks of starlight permeated into his heart, Miao Yi could feel the internal injuries
from within his body being healed at a quickened pace.
The instant Yang Qing flipped his hand over, the storage ring gave a soft glimmer, and the
Glorious Star immortal herb went back into it.
Inside the grand hall, everyone kept throwing glances at each other, discovering that Yang
Qing really looked up to the kid. Not everyone possessed a Glorious Star immortal herb.
When the seal was lifted from the Boundless Secular World, the amount gathered was also
very limited. Moreover, every time the immortal herb was used, it would be reduced in
quantity, so it was extremely valuable. Those who wanted more would need to wait for the
Boundless Secular World to lift its seal once again.
The trivial injuries this kid suffered would have healed with time. Yang Qing must have
truly been willing to use the immortal herb, which could have saved lives in the midst of
an emergency.
The most important thing was that Yang Qing had gone as far as to personally help the kid
to mend his wounds.
Everyone could see now that Yang Qing was doing this to win his support.
But everyone could only keep the thought in their hearts—no one would voice it out just
to bring misfortune onto themselves.
Xiong Xiao lightly creased his brows, the degree of admiration Yang Qing harbored
towards Miao Yi had slightly exceeded his expectations. He feared that it would not be an
easy feat to give justice to Chun Xue.
“Miao Yi, previously I promised you…”
Once Yang Qing began to speak, everyone immediately strained their ears, guessing that
he was going to announce that Miao Yi would become the next Cave Master of Transient
Light Cave. This made everyone feel very upset.
One of the reasons as to why Yang Qing dared to revolt was because his troops were well-
trained and powerful. The Cave Masters under him were stationed elsewhere and there
were quite a number of people who possessed the qualifications to be a Mountain
Chieftain but regrettably, they had a Yang Qing presiding over them. Yang Qing himself
had the ability to be a Manor Head—it was the reason that Manor Head of South Edict
Manor, Lu Yu, dreaded.爽。
Besides Qin Weiwei, the other respective Cave Masters of Mount Shaotai present on the
scene had cultivations at White Lotus Eighth Grade and above. They had endured much to
make it this far, and yet they still remained as Cave Masters. This Miao Yi was only a
mere White Lotus First Grade cultivator, had recently surrendered and now actually
wanted to become a Cave Master himself. Naturally, everyone was a bit unhappy with it.
Yang Qing had not yet finished speaking when all of a sudden, a loud ‘bang’ sounded from
outside, in addition to a neighing, blood-curdling screech, mixed in with a flurry of
chaotic-sounding noises.
Everyone was bewildered, could it be that South Edict Manor’s Manor Head, Lu Yu, had
gathered his forces together and were attacking this place?
With Yang Qing in the lead, everyone instantly whipped out the weapons from their
storage ring, the whole lot of them bolting out in an instant.
Within seconds, the entire grand hall was empty, with only Miao Yi remaining behind.
Miao Yi was a bit speechless. The battle this time had ignited an impatient desire to raise
his cultivation, so he really wanted to obtain the position of Cave Master of Transient
Light Cave. The reason was simple; to obtain more Orbs of Will.
With such a sudden turn of events just as Yang Qing was about to say something, Miao Yi
didn’t even know who was it that had gotten in his way.
“Miao Yi! Get the f*ck out of there!”
Qin Weiwei’s shrill shout suddenly came from outside, startling Miao Yi who was about to
get to the bottom of what was going on. That woman was too strong, and from the start he
himself had never been a match for her at all. So, he was clueless as to what he did to piss
her off again.
For the sake of the Cave Master seat, he would stomach this for now. He would wait until
he had built up enough strength, then he would take care of her. Miao Yi quickly ran out
obediently.
He discovered that there was a large group of people crowded together in the open plaza
outside the grand hall. Quite a number of them turned their heads in the direction of the
quickly-arriving Miao Yi. Some had a look of astonishment on their faces, while some of
them had their lips curled in ridicule. Everyone started to make way for him to pass.
He was greeted by the sight of Qin Weiwei standing with her hand grasping the Serpent
Lance, glaring at him with a frosty expression. And at the base of her feet, a dragon steed
had collapsed and was twitching in a pool of blood. In one glance, Miao Yi recognized
that it was Qin Weiwei’s mount, and figured that it would not survive.
Yan Xiu was nodding his head and bowing, offering apologies and ways to make amends
to Qin Weiwei with all his might.
Miao Yi scratched his head, feeling rather baffled. He’d been inside the grand hall just
now, so it was a stretch to say he had killed her mount. Yan Xiu wouldn’t have the guts to
do so, as well.
“Why is Cave Master Qin losing her temper at me?”
Miao Yi’s expression also sank. Even though his cultivation base was low, his personality
was not weak. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to survive in the streets, dragging his
younger brother and sister around to avoid being bullied by others.
Qin Weiwei brandished her spear and pointed it at Yan Xiu, shouting furiously, “Ask your
bastard!”
The tip of the spear almost stabbed into his chest. Yan Xiu meekly moved his body out of
harm, revealing a pleased and proud Charcoal behind him.
Miao Yi still did not understand what she meant by this so he asked Yan Xiu, “What’s
going on?”
“I also didn’t expect that…” Yan Xiu stood sideways, pointing at Charcoal as he
explained.
After Miao Yi listened to everything, he broke out in a cold sweat! He was no longer able
to steel himself to face QIn Weiwei, who was boiling in anger.
Ever since he and Qin Weiwei had arrived, both of their mounts were placed together—
Yan Xiu was helping to keep an eye on Charcoal.
However, Yan Xiu also hadn’t a clue as to what happened. Charcoal just abruptly
ambushed Qin Weiwei’s mount from the side, colliding into its weak spot with all its
might.
Charcoal was usually terribly lazy, but its explosive power was evident to all. The usual
dragon steeds were truly incomparable to it, so when it directly crashed into Qin Weiwei’s
mount it managed to send it flying.
That wasn’t the end of it. With the ambush succeeding, it immediately rushed out and bit
into Qin Weiwei’s mount’s crucial spot—its neck—then gave in to a burst of wild
hysterical stomping. Charcoal kept stepping onto the steed, tormenting Qin Weiwei’s
mount into this tragic state.
Miao Yi was considered to have officially fought side-by-side with Charcoal before, and
vaguely understood Charcoal’s d*mned temperament. Its sense of vengefulness was very
strong.
Luo Zhen had been killed, and Charcoal thoroughly erupted—Miao Yi understood it
wanted to avenge Luo Zhen.
He didn’t know whether the reason for its act of revenge was partly due to the fact that
he’d been beaten and injured by Qin Weiwei. He figured his relationship with Charcoal
had not reached that stage yet.
But Miao Yi was very certain, that it definitely had something to do with Qin Weiwei
stabbing Charcoal’s rear with her lance. The steed knew it wouldn’t be able to defeat Qin
Weiwei in a fight, so instead seized its chance the moment Qin Weiwei was not around, to
inflict a deadly blow towards her mount. He dared not speak highly of this dragon steed’s
‘character’.
As it happened, Charcoal was still unaware that it had gotten into trouble and was still in
joy to see Miao Yi appearing before it. It huddled up to Miao Yi, arching its head, and
even snorted at the dragon steed lying in the pool of blood, as though it was proudly
showing off. It seemed to be saying ‘Look! What do you think?’.
Miao Yi so badly wanted to strangle it to death. If the Cave Master position he had risked
his life to obtain was thrown away because of this, just wait and see how he would deal
with this dragon steed later.
“What do you plan to do now?” Qin Weiwei furiously shouted with the lance hoisted.
“I’ll apologize and make amends on my steed’s behalf.” Miao Yi sighed. Who asked him
to be in the wrong.
Unable to contain her anger, Qin Weiwei shouted, “A simple apology and that’s it?”
Miao Yi cupped his fists and said, “I will definitely punish it later.”
Qin Weiwei let out an ‘oh’, casting a glance at her mount who was about to breathe its last
at her feet. She then half-heartedly said, “How are you planning to punish it?”
Miao Yi turned back and slapped Charcoal on its head, pointing at it as he scolded, “Your
punishment is to go one month without eating any fish and prawns.”
After he finished, he turned back to gaze at Qin Weiwei.
Qin Weiwei waited for quite a while. Seeing that he had nothing else to say after that, her
facial expression instantly darkened as she deadpanned word by word, “This. Is. Your.
Punishment?”
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 36: Charcoal Wrecks Havoc (2)

Miao Yi nodded and said, “For this dragon steed, this form of punishment is more painful
than killing it.”
At the edge, someone on the scene was trying to stifle his laughter, having the impression
that Miao Yi was making a fool out of Qin Weiwei. However, Qin Weiwei was the
adopted daughter of Yang Qing. Normally, nobody would dare to cross her, not to mention
that Qin Weiwei was never a meddlesome person to begin with, so no one would take the
initiative to anger her. This time things had gotten more interesting, someone was
unexpectedly making fun of Qin Weiwei in public.
Luckily, Yang Qing only swept his gaze around coldly, his meaningful glance was filled
with the message ‘Who dares to stir up trouble?’, which made everyone restrain their
laughter.
Miao Yi looked at everyone’s reaction and then eventually caught on. But he didn’t lie
about the fact that Charcoal and the other dragon steeds were different. The other dragon
steeds were omnivorous. They ate meat and vegetables such as fruits, greens, chickens,
ducks and fishes, but Charcoal ate nothing but seafood like fish and prawns. Not letting it
eat fish and prawns was no different than starving it for a month. Particularly for Charcoal,
who had such a huge stomach, so forcing it to starve for that long was definitely a very
severe punishment indeed.
Unable to contain her anger anymore, Qin Weiwei furiously shouted, “I’m going to make
it pay me back with its life!”
She lifted her lance and was about to stab Charcoal, but was stopped by Yang Qing
gripping her Serpent Lance with one hand. With creased brows, he said, “Weiwei, this is
not a big deal. Don’t let this affect your good relationship. Just change to a new one!”
He was trying to win someone’s support, specifically Miao Yi’s. At the same time, he
wanted all his subordinates to see the generous treatment he bestowed onto a loyal
warrior, hoping that everyone understood that he would never mistreat people who were
loyal to him. How could he let his daughter ruin this plan for him?
Qin Weiwei’s full chest was heaving quickly, her clear eyes glaring at Miao Yi as though
they were about to shoot out flames. But since Yang Qing had already said as much, what
else could she do? Privately, maybe she could depend on their father and daughter
relationship to throw a tantrum at Yang Qing but for appearance’s sake, she had to protect
her father’s face in front of his subordinates no matter what.
After throwing Miao Yi a glance that said wait and see, she took back the lance from Yang
Qing’s hand, turned her head and left!
“Watch your…” Yang Qing pointed at the pleased and proud Charcoal and didn’t know
what else to say. Was it worthwhile for him to bother about a mere beast?
He waved his hand, speechless, and also moved to depart.
Miao Yi pointed at Charcoal as well, as though warning in advance how he would deal
with it later. Turning himself around, he followed everyone back into Transient Light Hall.
He fully anticipated that Yang Qing would bestow the position of Cave Master to him.
Little did they know, that as soon as everyone began to walk up the steps of the grand hall,
they would be instantly alarmed by a commotion coming from behind, making them turn
their heads back one more time.
They were greeted by the sight of Charcoal once again charging towards Qin Weiwei’s
mount, who wasn’t completely dead yet. It bit the steed’s neck, gripping it tightly while it
shook its head like a lunatic, smashing it violently left and right. Very quickly, a hole was
formed on the bluestone pavement, and was filled with flesh and blood by all the
repetitive smashing.
After it completely ended Qin Weiwei’s mount, the steed opened its bloodied mouth and
lifted its head to the sky, revealing rows of sharp, eerie teeth as it let out a long neigh.
Everyone standing on the steps looked at each other. Good heavens, this bastard was full
of character, not even permitting one last breath to the steed—it only stopped when the
steed was completely dead.
Yan Xiu, who had run to the sidelines intending to stop Charcoal, looked at Qin Weiwei’s
dead mount. He weakly turned his head to look in their direction, showing signs of
wanting to cry yet remained tearless. He had never imagined Charcoal would pull an
eradication trick like this.
Qin Weiwei, dressed in snowy white robes akin to a pear flower, her full chest once again
began to heave up and down in a hurried state. That bastard had gone too far, to the extent
of practically not giving her any face at all!
Yang Qing’s face faintly twitched for a while.
Miao Yi’s face thoroughly crumpled from shame, that steed kept stirring up trouble during
his most important moments.
He bolted towards Charcoal in a flash, taking his spear from Yan Xiu’s hand, then
smashed it with the spear as he charged.
Charcoal broke into a mad run and Miao Yi couldn’t catch up. Even a Blue Lotus stage
cultivator was unable to keep up with a dragon steed’s speed, let alone him.
“Don’t run! Stop this instant…”
Miao Yi’s voice, bursting with anger and shame sounded in the distance.
After a while, when the whole crowd had returned to the grand hall, they saw Miao Yi
dragging his spear back inside.
Yang Qing didn’t want to bother with an animal but he couldn’t restrain himself from
asking, “What did you to your mount?”
Miao Yi held back for a while, feeling rather ashamed, but eventually he still replied
honestly, “Couldn’t catch up to it.”
“”Hehe!” Again, somebody couldn’t control a snort of amusement.
Somebody sighed, “That’s right, you can’t catch up. If you could, then there’d be no need
to use it as a mount.”
Someone bantered, “You can’t be blamed for this. Just about anyone with a disobedient
mount like this would get a migraine too.”
The entire hall roared with laughter on the spot. Now, nobody was envious that Miao Yi’s
mount knew how to ambush, what was the use of a mount who won’t even listen to its
master’s orders?
Even Yang Qing couldn’t resist smiling, he realized that this man and dragon steed
practically deserved each other.
Even Qin Weiwei didn’t know whether to rage or laugh. In short, she rolled her eyes,
raising her head to gaze towards the domed roof of the grand hall.
Yang Qing lightly lifted his hand, halting everyone continuing to make fun of Miao Yi.
Before getting back to the subject at hand, he said, “Miao Yi, I previously promised you
Transient Light Cave…”
Before he could finish, he was interrupted again. A flurry of the hurried sounds of
galloping dragon steeds resounded from outside.
Everyone’s gaze instinctively went back to Miao Yi again, guessing that his rascal mount
was at it again.
Miao Yi thought so too, his expression thoroughly darkened. That bastard always comes
and causes trouble at important times, watch how I’m going to deal with you!
Without informing anyone, Miao Yi gripped his spear and proceeded to run out.
In the end, somebody shouted, “Report!”
Somebody swiftly dismounted from the dragon steed that had stopped outside of the hall
and nearly ran into Miao Yi. The person sidestepped and threw a glance at Miao Yi, then
immediately delivered a report to Yang Qing with his fists cupped, “Mountain Chieftain,
the men that have managed to attack East Arrival Cave were annihilated!”
Everyone in the grand hall was alarmed. Yang Qing stood up from his seat, and shouted in
a deep tone, “The Cave Master of Colossal Ram Cave has a cultivation of White Lotus
Eighth Grade. They can take down East Arrival Cave without any problems, so how could
they have been annihilated?”
The man explained urgently, “Lu Yu banded together with South Edict’s forces of nine
mountains and coincidentally ran into Colossal Ram Cave’s forces. Lu Yu personally
beheaded the Cave Master of Colossal Ram Cave. Now Lu Yu is leading his forces
towards Transient Light Cave with great speed and urgency! ”
Yang Qing scoffed, “Lu Yu scum, how quick his response is! Alright, might as well. We
can avoid the trouble of hitting them hard one by one, and eliminate the effort required to
settle him. ”
He looked around and asked, “Does everyone dare to face him with me?”
With a swish, everyone folded their hands in support of the order.
“Good! Once we have taken Lu Yu’s scum life, I will grant rewards based on your
merits!”
“We’re willing to give our lives!” Everyone called out loudly together, they already
seemed to be very excited.
The people, a number of them already had the strength to become a Mountain Chieftain,
so they had been restless beforehand, looking forward to quickly expanding their own
domain, and to take pleasure in more power of will. Yang Qing was bound to lead a revolt
with the support from these people. To be exact, they had already been instigated by Yang
Qing earlier on.
Yang Qing waved a hand, taking the lead at a quick step, swiftly guiding everyone in
leaving the grand hall.
Miao Yi stepped to the side inside the hall to let the others pass through, he was stunned.
Yang Qing left, just like that? What about my affairs?
Qin Weiwei, the last to leisurely walk past his side halted in her steps. She tilted her head
to glance at him and coldly said, “You prisoner, what are you up to, staying here
unmoving instead of following Mountain Chieftain into battle? Are you waiting for your
master to kill his way back here?”
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 37: The Slumbering Dragon Awakens

“No.” Miao Yi frantically shook his hands in denial. He was a bit embarrassed to begin in
this way, but this was a matter of great importance to him, so he had no other choice but to
clarify, “Then what about Transient Light Cave? Do I need to stay and defend it?”
“Why, do you seriously think you’re the Cave Master of Transient Light Cave?” Qin
Weiwei ridiculed.
The tone of Miao Yi’s voice was grave as he asked, “Could it be that Mountain Chieftain
will go back on his words?”
“…” His directness made Qin Weiwei choke back her reply.
Turning to stride towards the outside of the grand hall, she deadpanned, “Naturally,
Mountain Chieftain won’t break his promise. But for matters concerning the granting of
domains, these are rewarded based on the merits after the battle. It’s not the time for you
to indulge in your fantasies just yet. If you still aren’t going to make a move, then that
means you’re deserting us. I can stab you to death with my spear!”
If her father hadn’t set his eyes on him, she really would have followed her impulse to stab
him to death.
Because she felt like she had been lied to and tricked. She’d been utterly shocked when
Miao Yi let out that helpless roar in the valley, and had assumed he was brave-hearted, a
rare characteristic to find in a man. But who knew he was also a guy who could easily be
swayed when faced with benefits. If she had known earlier, she would have made him
suffer more at that time.
B*tch! Miao Yi secretly scolded in his heart, thinking that once he had the strength, just
wait and see how he’d take care of her.
Having the strength was a matter of the future, after he’d actually acquired it. At least for
now, it was still necessary for him to remain well-behaved.
He ran out after Qin Weiwei, and discovered that Yan Qing had already set off with vigor,
leading a large number of his forces. Qin Weiwei’s subordinates had already mounted their
dragon steeds, awaiting further orders, with Yan Xiu and the two other prisoners from the
former Transient Light Cave among them.
Qin Weiwei climbed up onto her new dragon steed, with bow and arrows draped around
her and the Serpent lance in her hand. She hoisted the lance, and was about to yell for
everyone to set out, only to discover Miao Yi at the side in solitude, looking about. How
very arrogant he was, he practically took no notice of those around him. More importantly,
he disrespected her, the Cave Master of Hundred Blossoms Cave.
Pointing her Serpent lance at Miao Yi, Qin Weiwei said in a deep voice, “Displaying
cowardice just before a battle, do you seriously think I’m too afraid to kill you?”
Miao Yi, unsure of whether to laugh or cry, replied, “My mount hasn’t returned!”
Qin Weiwei went speechless, finally recalling that the guy’s mount had been frightened
away by him and his spear. She realized that she was so pissed by him that she was losing
her wits.
But Qin Weiwei would never go easy on him. And she also found delight in taking
revenge. She laughed coldly, “You’re the one who caused trouble in the first place, so
think of the solution yourself. If you can’t keep up with the group, then you’ll be punished
as a deserter and executed without mercy!” She turned to point her hoisted spear in the
direction of where the main force disappeared, “SET OUT!”
With her at the front, she led the cavalry away as fast as lightning.
Luckily Yan Xiu assisted him on the side. As Yan Xiu sped past him, he abruptly extended
his hand, hauling Miao Yi up onto the steed, the two of them riding together on one
dragon steed, trailing behind the group.
Yan Xiu also had some questions to ask him, so he invoked his art to send a message
discreetly to Miao Yi and asked, “Yang Qing is really going to appoint you as the Cave
Master of Transient Light Cave?”
“You saw how I was just treated, do I look like I’m a Cave Master?”
Yang Xiu cried out in surprise, “Are you sure? Yang Qing made that promise in front of
everyone, how could he back out now? How would his subordinates see him in the
future?”
“He didn’t break his promise. He was about to mention this, but was interrupted by
Charcoal. It’s more likely the title will be determined after battle, when we’ll be rewarded
based on our merits.” Miao Yi vigilantly peered about his surroundings, before wandering
off from the subject, “Charcoal that bastard, he wouldn’t seriously get frightened off and
not come back anymore, will he?”
“No. For sure he’s back in Hidden Dragon Valley. That’s his old nest.” Yan Xiu was very
certain, since he’d known Charcoal for many years already so he still had some
understanding of his attitude. “Brother, your wounds are already healed this quickly?”
Miao Yi looked at both of his hands. “Yang Qing used the Glorious Star immortal herb to
heal them.”
Yan Xiu asked in bewilderment, “Yang Qing personally healed you?”
Miao Yi explained roughly about the events that happened at that time. After keeping
silence for a while, he sighed, “I’m not speaking well of him just because I surrendered to
him. I also don’t care whether Yang Qing was putting on false pretences or not. All in all, I
feel Yang Qing seems like a pretty decent guy, better than Yuan Zhengkun at least. Maybe
we made the right decision to surrender.”
What does it mean to win the people’s support? This would be a great example.
Obviously, Yang Qing’s actions had earned Miao Yi’s good opinion.
Yan Xiu too, fell into a deep silence. Of course he understood that Yang Qing wouldn’t be
doing this for nothing, and also wouldn’t be doing the same thing for everyone else.
Rather, it was because of Miao Yi’s fight to the death that had earned him Yang Qing’s
admiration and subsequent special treatment.
Yang Qing aside, even Yan Xiu was shocked to the core by Miao Yi’s ferocious display of
fearlessness when he lifted the four cultivators using his spear and straight after, battled
against five cultivators on his own.
Moreover, he was shocked by what Miao Yi had just told him. The result of Miao Yi’s
fight to the death had not only resulted in him becoming the Cave Master of Transient
Light Cave at only White Lotus First Grade, but his wounds were also specially treated by
Yan Qing.
And him? So what if he had a cultivation at White Lotus Third Grade? He would rather be
a live coward than a dead hero. He had completely faltered under the notion of safety first.
Picturing his wife, Luo Zhen, unreconciled to humiliation and fighting with all her might,
made him slowly shut his eyes, his heart full of desolation and sorrow.
Yan Xiu took down a wine bottle gourd he had tied to his waist, then flung it far away.
“Brother, if you really do become the Cave Master of Transient Light Cave, you mustn’t
forget me, your old brother!”
“Don’t worry. I won’t let Senior lose out.”
“Brother, I have a question that I’m not sure I should ask.”
“Go ahead.”
“You only have a cultivation at White Lotus First Grade, yet how did you manage to
endure the pressure of transcendence energy exerted by those with a cultivation at second
and third grade, and even go as far as counterattacking under pressure?”
Miao Yi asked puzzlingly, “Under the same conditions, others cannot endure this kind of
pressure?”
“Maybe it’s possible to endure the pressure exerted by a second grade but never with your
skill. Not only did you endure the pressure exerted by a third grade, you could still fight
back with ease! Judging by your condition at the time, I reckon even a cultivation at White
Lotus Fourth Grade would have had a hard time invoking their arts to suppress you.
Unless they were at White Lotus Fifth Grade, with a high enough disparity between their
level and yours, then maybe they’d have a chance. Just like how Qin Weiwei had wounded
you by congealing her transcendence energy into a solid form and using it to attack.”
“Is this normally the case?”
“Under normal circumstances, it would be. You’re the first exception to the rule, though.”
At his words, Lao Bai’s teachings flashed through his mind, recalling when he’d faced the
waterfall’s onslaught over the years, the very same words mentioned when Lao Bai made
him dive deep into the sea to cultivate, “Treat the pressure in the deep sea as a strong
enemy who is using transcendence energy to oppress you. You need to get accustomed to
this feeling and learn how to adapt under such oppressive conditions caused by an
enemy’s formidable transcendence energy to launch your attack!”
In an instant, Miao Yi’s eyes brightened. He had found the reason.
Obviously, no matter how much theory Lao Bai had taught him at the time, he would
never be able to deeply comprehend it if he hadn’t experienced it beforehand. However,
after going through actual combat this time, he finally understood.
In actuality, Lao Bai had already opened a door for him earlier on. As to what hidden
treasures were behind the door, Lao Bai didn’t say. Maybe Lao Bai himself had no idea
since he wasn’t a cultivator. Miao Yi would have to comprehend it himself, to find the
treasures hidden beyond that door…
Neigh! The familiar sound of whinnying and the trampling of horse hooves travelled from
behind him, dragging Miao Yi from his thoughts to reality. Turning his head back to look,
he saw the fat Charcoal’s four hooves galloping forth, approaching with a speed akin to a
bolt of lightning.
Yan Xiu hadn’t guessed wrong. Charcoal really was hiding at its old nest, the Hidden
Dragon Valley, and had been frisking and rolling about on the spot.
But once the rumbling sound of hooves had faded in the distance, and after the entirety of
Transient Light Cave had fallen into a dead silence, Charcoal got back on its feet again.
Trotting back to Transient Light Cave and neighing for a few times did not garner it any
response, as the whole grounds were empty with no one around.
Luo Zhen died, and now Miao Yi and Yan Xiu no longer want me as well? Are they
abandoning me because they don’t care about me anymore?
Thus, it immediately chased after them, madly galloping towards the direction of where
the sounds of the other sprinting steeds had disappeared.
Once again it exploded with an alarming speed. Although it was under disadvantageous
circumstances, where the other dragon steeds had a longer head start, it still managed to
quickly catch up.
Akin to its performance on the battlefield, it could surpass the speed of other dragon
steeds despite its fat physique. It was capable of catching up to the enemy, but the enemy
was unable to do the same.
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 38: Decisive Battle of South Edict (1)

The sound of a galloping steed made everyone turn their heads to look behind them.
Its mane swished as it rushed forward, flying through the dust as though it were a
wanderer in the wind. Even though it was a fat wanderer, it was still swift enough to catch
up to Yan Xiu’s mount.
Letting out a neigh, it even ran neck to neck with Yan Xiu’s mount.
Miao Yi had assumed that his steed would have been too pissed to join them so he
couldn’t help feeling pleasantly surprised by its appearance. Carrying the silver spear in
his hand, he leaped from behind Yan Xiu and landed onto Charcoal’s back.
Two fleshy feelers quickly emerged from Charcoal’s fluttering mane and latched onto
Miao Yi’s thigh.
Miao Yi’s gaze met with the backward glance Qin Weiwei cast him as she looked behind
her. The former let out a mischievous laugh, as though saying my mount has already
returned on its own, you want to embarrass me, well that’s not going to happen!
Qin Weiwei scoffed coldly and turned to face the front, continuing to lead the troops to
gallop through the mountains and high ranges at top speed.
‘Charge to the front! Make that b*tch eat our dust!’
Miao Yi transmitted his thoughts to Charcoal. Although, with their current cultivation,
they were nowhere near to making her really eat dust. Instead, the dust flying up ahead
flew towards the back, hitting them in the face. This made him immensely angry.
Neigh! Charcoal’s eyes gleamed as it produced a long neigh. The steed appeared to be
very interested in doing things like this, especially when it was directed towards Qin
Weiwei who had stabbed its rear with a strike of her lance.
In an instant, its four legs flew like a phantom, the speed was akin to a black-colored spirit
amidst the wind. Even though it was a fat spirit, its swiftness was not for show. It sped
through the high mountain ranges as if it were on flatlands and even when crossing the
mountain streams, it still raced through in a flash, swiftly leaving behind Yan Xiu, who
had been riding alongside them.
Ordinary people were unable to withstand the quick pace of a dragon steed. Besides the
fact that they wouldn’t be able to keep their eyes open, it was an entirely plausible thing
for them to get blown away by the wind.
Very quickly, Miao Yi soon reached the front, drawing level with the leading Qin Weiwei,
who rode at breakneck speed. Both of them turned their heads to lock eyes with each
other, their gazes emitting sparks.
Miao Yi turned to look up ahead, his lips curling into a smirk. He leaned forwards slightly,
stretched out his hand and patted Charcoal’s neck.
Charcoal got the message and once again increased its speed, slowly exceeding that of Qin
Weiwei’s mount by more than half.
Qin Weiwei seethed with rage and discreetly transmitted to her mount the thought of
wanting to exceed Charcoal. The saddled dragon steed immediately exploded with speed,
violently chasing after Miao Yi and his mount. Their race caused the cavalry behind them
to also hasten their mounts in order to catch up to their leader.
Yet, Qin Weiwei couldn’t help but gnash her teeth with hatred. That dragon steed, it was
as fat as a pig, yet still managed to gallop at a speed that could only be seen as
extraordinary. Her own dragon steed had thrown caution to the wind and ran with all its
might, yet the distance between the fatty and her own mount continued growing further
and further apart. She wasn’t able to catch up no matter how much she tried to.
Not long after, the fat-wriggling Charcoal had far surpassed Qin Weiwei, taking the lead
by more than a hundred meters. This was done under conditions where it had two deep
slashes on its rear.
Most excessively, Charcoal seemed to feel that competing with speed alone wasn’t enough
for it to vent its anger. It actually began to slow down in order to shorten the distance
between them. Then, using both of its hind legs, deliberately tossed back a pile of dust,
sand, stones and weeds. It was extremely mean-spirited.
A pile of debris came pelting from up ahead onto Qin Weiwei’s face, although they were
all eventually cleared away and then avoided by Qin Weiwei’s arts.
Miao Yi, riding in front, stifled his laughter, feeling extremely satisfied that he finally had
his revenge.
Yan Xiu at the back sweatdropped tremendously as he watched on. Clearly this was to
deliberately mess with Qin Weiwei! He hurriedly transmitted his voice over, exclaiming,
“Brother, stop fooling around! I heard that the Cave Master for Hundred Blossoms Cave is
supposedly Yang Qing’s adopted daughter. Before your Cave Master position is definite, I
feel it’s better if you don’t offend her.”
“…” The smile on Miao Yi’s face froze, instantly unable to laugh anymore. He madly
scolded in his heart, why didn’t you say so earlier?!
Unable to control her fury anymore, Qin Weiwei held out her lance and pointed it at Miao
Yi. In a cold voice, she yelled threateningly, “Listen to my orders! Your position is behind
me, those who defy orders on the battlefield will be executed without mercy!”
Miao Yi meekly made Charcoal slow down, letting Qin Weiwei ride in front of him.
What did it mean to give someone a dose of his own medicine? It was exactly this
circumstance. The things Charcoal had done before, Qin Weiwei’s mount doled out in
exactly the same manner.
Her mount probably wasn’t as smart as Charcoal. It would be weird if she weren’t the one
instructing it.
A pile of rubble came pelting down towards Miao Yi and Charcoal, forcing Miao Yi to
incessantly invoke his art to avoid them. When the usage time is prolonged, then the
amount of transcendence energy exhausted wasn’t a small amount. However, he didn’t
dare voice out any complaints. If others could do it, there was no reason why he couldn’t.
At times, Charcoal would cry out, feeling wronged, but Miao Yi wouldn’t let it take
revenge.
Qin Weiwei kept her gaze towards the front, her face was expressionless, and only she
knew in her heart whether she felt satisfied or not.
To avoid being implicated, the others dispersed into two lines on the left and right as they
followed behind, each of them wearing pitiful looks to gaze at the meekly following Miao
Yi as he ate Qin Weiwei’s dust.
Not long after, the group saw that Yang Qing’s main forces were lined up in a battle
formation on the vast wasteland.
The moment Qin Weiwei saw the stance, she knew they were preparing to engage the
enemy forces in a decisive battle right there. Thus, she quickly commanded her troops to
take their positions in the formation.
“Miao Yi!” With her gaze upfront, Qin Weiwei suddenly called out in a gentle voice.
Miao Yi immediately led Charcoal to the front to listen to her orders. Qin Weiwei held her
lance and pointed in front of them, “Once we cross swords, you’ll spearhead the attack!”
“…” This was obviously a case of using one’s position to get even with another person for
a personal grudge! Miao Yi put on a bold front and forced himself to cup his fists and said,
“Understood!”
Hearing him, a wave of pitiful gazes were again cast at Miao Yi.
Yan Xiu shook his head and sighed, what was a prisoner like him getting so arrogant for?
Up ahead, a cultivator on a dragon steed urgently gave chase to another cultivator.
Obviously, it was the enemy’s outpost pursuing the scout with murderous intent!
But upon seeing the battle formation ahead, the enemy’s outpost became afraid to continue
further, swiftly retreating.
The scout then rapidly rushed to the front of Yang Qing before coming to a stop. He
pointed behind him as he reported, “Mountain Chieftain Lu Yu’s forces have arrived!”
Yang Qing gave a slight nod, then waved his hand to dismiss him.
Soon, a burst of rumbling sounds rapidly closed in from somewhere straight ahead, and
even the ground could feel its vibration.
A herd of dragon steeds came speeding towards them, a black dense mass which consisted
of thousands of cultivators were closing in, eventually halting at four or five hundred
meters away.
Miao Yi looked at the forces on his side, and turned to look at the forces on the opposite
side. He guessed that the opposing forces had roughly around thousands of cultivators,
while those at Yang Qing’s side barely reached five hundred. He could not help but feel
dubious about their chances on whether they could win this battle or not.
As a matter of fact, the majority of the forces from Yang Qing’s side came from Lan
Yumen, since a lone cultivator from the mountain wouldn’t have the capability to gather
this many people.
The battle formation on the opposite side made a number of cultivators with low-level
cultivation bases secretly timid, but when they were swept by the cold gazes of the
respective Cave Masters holding the lines at the front, they immediately lifted up their
spirits with determination.
“Yang Qing, you scum!”
A loud roar akin to a sudden clap of thunder resounded in mid-air, reverberating over the
wasteland.
On the opposite side, among the ten cultivators clad in silver armor, one of the men
wielded a Square Sky-Decorated Halberd. He moved upfront, stepping on horses from the
group, wielding his halberd as he pointed and furiously shouted at Yang Qing.
Not to be outdone, Yang Qing similarly went up front by stepping on horses, a silver spear
wielded in his hand. He pointed at the other and shouted, “Lu Yu, you old scum, you dare
deceive me!”
“In all these years, I have staked my life to fight for you, fought in wars all over and
pushed you up to the Manor Head seat with our fellow brothers. I have worked hard, not
just for merits, and this is how you treat me? You promote me in name but demote me in
reality! You really are pushing it too far!” Yang Qing appeared to bristle with anger and
compelled to act, he waved his spear at the people up front. “This Lu Yu scum does not
have the capacity to tolerate others! Let my current end serve as a warning to every
brother! Brothers, why not join me to kill this scum together? When the deed is done, I
will stand united with my fellow brothers-in-arms, sharing the world’s power of will
together!”
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 39: Decisive Battle of South Edict (2)

This was practically a subordinate instigating against him in his presence! Naturally Lu Yu
would not let him continue his speech of treason any longer.
“What sheer nonsense!” Lu Yu bellowed in rage. “Cease flaunting your sharp tongue,
today will be your turn to die! ”
“Good! Today, you and I will have a final showdown!” All of a sudden, Yang Qing steered
the dragon steed to rush out, pressing on alone.He positioned himself between both sides
in the center of the battlefield. A glowing five-petaled Blue Lotus blossomed between his
brows as he pointed his spear at Lu Yu. “Scum, don’t even think of bringing harm to the
other brothers. Do you dare to fight single handedly with me to determine which of us is
stronger?!”
Miao Yi discovered that this person Yang Qing was extremely courageous, to actually
want to duel with Lu Yu, as though it were a mere feat to take him down. His actions
immediately caused a great boost in the morale on this side.
Bear in mind that for this kind of battle, under normal circumstances, the general wouldn’t
come out to fight in the front line. They would try their best to lessen the consumption of
transcendence energy. Otherwise, they would be subject to betrayal, should someone
decide to take advantage of one’s depleted transcendence energy. It would be no laughing
matter.
Lu Yu had many powerful men amongst his ranks, numbering more than twofold, so he
was at an advantage. Thus, it was natural that he wouldn’t want to fight a duel with Yang
Qing. The best, guaranteed method, would be for his subordinates to rush forth in large
groups, directly clipping Yang Qing’s wings right before ending the battle with a full-on
besiegement.
But he never imagined that Yang Qing would actually challenge him to a fight in front of
this many people, especially since Lu Yu’s cultivation was one level above Yang Qing’s.
His own forces seemed to focus on him in an instant, seeing whether he dared to take up
the challenge or not.
At Mount Shaotai’s side, Xiong Xiao and the rest were apparently already finished with
their discussion. Each respective Cave Master immediately raised their arms and cheered,
“Mountain Chieftain is formidable, old scum Lu Yu, dare to accept the battle! Mountain
Chieftain is formidable, old scum Lu Yu, dare to accept the battle…”
They led Miao Yi and the rest to rally loudly, as well. The sound of the repetitive chant
shook across the four plains, their morales soaring greatly as a result.
In contrast, Lu Yu’s side fell into a deep silence, all eyes on Lu Yu, waiting to see whether
he would dare to accept the battle or not.
Lu Yu vaguely felt suspicious, was there a ploy at play?
Yang Qing once again waved his spear at Lu Yu, angrily shouting, “Do you only know
how to send your subordinates and brothers to death? You cowardly old scum! Do you
dare to fight with me to the death?”
Within a short while, he had forced Lu Yu into a corner. If he was afraid to fight against
him today, he would later lose face in front of all his subordinates.
If the person had a higher cultivation level than him, he could still avoid the fight, and it
wouldn’t be considered disgraceful. But now, he was facing a challenger with a lower
cultivation level than him. In addition, it was also his own subordinate who had revolted
against him, directly condemning Lu Yu while pointing at his nose. If he didn’t at least
give a proper response, then he’d end up a laughing stock.
If his subordinates started thinking he was just a mere facade without any real substance,
he feared that everyone would dare to act like Yang Qing. It could be said that his troubles
would keep brewing unceasingly.
“Pay with your life!!”
Lu Yu roared furiously, a glowing six-petaled Blue Lotus blossomed between his brows.
His dragon steed shot forward like a gust of wind, with him in tow.
With the swift speed of a dragon steed, a distance of a few hundred meters was crossed in
an instant. Lu Yu swung his Square Sky-Decorated Halberd, striking out in a fury.
The spear that Yang Qing brandished flashed a blue light, faintly transforming into a
phantom that took the form of an ox. The ox crashed headlong at the halberd swinging
towards it.
Boom!
A loud sound rang out and waves of transcendence energy shook the wastelands. Bits of
sands, stones and weeds flew fiercely around in all directions, forcing the violently
charging Lu Yu to a sudden halt. Both of their dragon steeds gave out long neighs as they
could not withstand the aftershocks. Luckily, they were both protected under their masters’
transcendence energy.
If ordinary horses had been faced with such pressure, it would have left them both with
four broken limbs. But for dragon steeds that could run like a bolt of lightning, its leg
power was its most strongest point. And it was because of this that they became the
beloved steed of cultivators, treasured by all.
“So you possessed a Second Grade Yao Core, no wonder you dared to be so audacious!”
Lu Yu said shortly, his Square Sky-Decorated Halberd was similarly emitting a bright blue
glow, with the form of a phantom bear faintly seen from it. Lu Yu casually swept his
halberd across.
Yang Qing’s shoulders trembled, and all of a sudden, the beast heads welded on both sides
of his shoulder armor came alive, instantly expanding in size as they morphed into two
clouds of silver mist. The mist quickly turned into two specks of congealing silver, which
then turned into into two ferocious beasts.
A tiger and a leopard, their upper bodies appearing large while their lower bodies were
smaller in comparison. It was as if they had abruptly bore their way out from his armor to
crouch on Yang Qing’s shoulders, both suffused by a distinct bright blue glow.
A tiger and a leopard, in addition to the phantom ox longspear in Yang Qing’s hand—
Boom! Together they withstood Lu Yu’s aggressive attacks!
Surprised, Lu Yu was forced to brandish the Square Sky Decorated Halberd, continuously
warding off attacks. Both of them returned to their horses and spun around, chasing one
another in an endless loop. The fierce roundabout battle kicked up the sand and stones like
a flying typhoon, their vigor was extremely shocking. Should an ordinary human body try
to move closer without the protection of transcendence energy, they would immediately be
torn to pieces.
And Yang Qing, as though he had grown three heads and six arms, seemed to fight with
the force of three. He delivered blows onto Lu Yu until the Manor Head only had the
strength to hold back the attacks, and he was repetitively thrown backwards.
To Miao Yi, it was the first time he had seen such a spectacle, so he instantly transmitted
his voice over to Yan Xiu asking what was going on.
After listening to Yan Xiu’s explanation, he finally understood why. Yao Grades were not
subdivided further. The cultivation of a First Grade Yao was more or less equal to the
cultivation of a White Lotus cultivator. The Second Grade is equivalent to a Blue Lotus
cultivator, while the Third Grade is equivalent to a Red Lotus cultivator, and the like.
But the Yao Core contained a large amount of the Yao cultivator’s cultivation, an item that
was coveted by many since it could be refined into transcendent artifacts.
Cultivators with a high cultivation base could use these transcendent artifacts from afar to
slaughter enemies from remote distances!
Without a doubt, the premise was to behead the Yao cultivator in order to obtain its inner
core.
But after beheading a Yao cultivator, the inner core containing the cultivation base could
certainly not be compared to when they were alive. The core’s potency would be reduced
by one grade.
For example, if one killed a Third Grade Yao cultivator, the inner core obtained would
only be equivalent to a cultivation at Second Grade, which is similar to the Blue Lotus
realm of cultivators. Once the core has been refined into a transcendence artifact, it will
emit a blue light.
But if the one beheaded was a First Grade Yao cultivator, then the inner core’s grade
would be non-existent. It would be of little use even against a White Lotus First Grade
cultivator.
In a flash, Miao Yi came to a sudden realization. No wonder Lu Yu said Yang Qing came
to possess a Second Grade Yao Core. It was obvious that the spear in Yang Qing’s hand
was fused together with an Ox Demon’s Second Grade Yao Core while the beast heads on
the left and right sides of his shoulder armor were fused with a Tiger Demon’s Second
Grade Yao Core and a Leopard Demon’s Second Grade Yao Core respectively. Even Lu
Yu’s Square Sky Decorated Halberd was infused with a Bear Demon’s Second Grade Yao
Core.
However, Yang Qing and Lu Yu already had a Blue Lotus realm cultivation base to begin
with. So the current situation was nothing more than Yang Qing having a cultivation
power of Blue Lotus by a factor of four, hitting Lu Yu’s factor of two.
“Too bad, if Yang Qing had a Third Grade Yao Core, then he would definitely be able to
defeat Lu Yu in one strike.” Miao Yi sighed, feeling great pity.
Yan Xiu couldn’t resist the urge to roll his eyes, “Brother, with Yang Qing’s cultivation at
Blue Lotus realm, it’s already considered to be a difficult feat to get his hands on a Second
Grade Yao Core as he would need to behead a Red Lotus realm Yao. I doubt he has the
ability to do so. Let’s not even mention that he already has three cores on him. I seriously
have no idea how he even came to possess that many. No wonder he dared to challenge Lu
Yu. As for the Third Grade Yao Core, the implication is that one needs to behead a Yao of
the Violet Lotus realm. The difference between those cultivations were worlds apart. One
hundred Yang Qings added together wouldn’t be nearly enough to kill a Yao of a Violet
Lotus Grade. Where would you expect him to find one?”
While both of them were engaged in conversation, the other side was still locked in a
vicious battle.
It became apparent that Lu Yu was about to lose ground, and it was heard that suddenly Lu
Yu emitted a raging roar, “Come on and join the fight, let’s kill this rebel together!”
With the exception of the rebel Yang Qing, all nine Mountain Chieftains under South
Edict Manor immediately charged over at great speeds to save the situation. Thousands of
cultivators moved upon hearing his orders, their screams of attack quaked the heavens as
they violently charged forwards.
On the other side, Xiong Xiao and all the rest—including Qin Weiwei—raised their arms
and shouted loudly together, “Attack!”
Over the wasteland, the feeling of death hung instantly in the air, the dragon steeds of both
factions frantically charged against the opposing side like a tidal wave, and even the
ground shook in their presence.
Miao Yi went speechless when Qin Weiwei’s forcefully pointed her spear at him. Seeing
that this woman’s eyes were brimming with pent-up anger, he knew that she intended to
carry out her earlier plan, making him spearhead the attack.
Regardless of how ignorant Miao Yi was about the current situation, he still came to
understand one thing. If he dared to disobey orders on the battlefield, Qin Weiwei would
immediately have an excuse to execute him. In such a case, Yang Qing wouldn’t be able to
say anything in his defense.
So in the end, he could only put on a bold front and force himself to take the lead,
charging out from Hundred Blossoms Cave’s camp.
Yet he was utterly shocked when the usually hidden-at-the-back Yan Xiu unexpectedly
shouted ‘attack’, charging out with both broad axes in his hands. Miao Yi couldn’t help
but do a double take.

Translator Note:
Yao [妖 (yāo)] - Yao is a race that is made up of Demons, Demonic Spirits, Spiritual
Beasts and the like.
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 40: Decisive Battle of South Edict (3)

WIth a bow in her hand, Qin Weiwei led the troops of Hundred Blossoms Cave, who were
following closely behind. She drew back the bow with five arrows nocked on the string
before instilling transcendence energy into them. Quickly charging forward, her slender
jade fingers relaxed and with a whoosh, five sharp arrows shot out rapidly. They whizzed
right past Miao Yi and Yan Xiu, causing them to jump in fright.
In an instant, the five deadly-sharp arrows, carrying a gentle glow, hit three cultivators in
total, causing them to fall from their dragon steeds. The other two arrows were struck
away by a higher ranked cultivator brandishing his spear.
Miao Yi quickly glanced behind him. He had a faint feeling that if he didn’t fight like his
life depended on it, this woman would use her role of overseeing the battle to shoot him
dead with an arrow!
Nevertheless, the instant when both sides were about to vigorously close in on one
another, a sudden change happened.
Yang Qing was closing in to kill Lu Yu, and as a result he had ventured close to the
opposing side’s camp. At that moment, the nine great Mountain Chieftains immediately
joined forces with Lu Yu, starting to attack him from different sides.
Yang Qing was in a perilous situation, and yet his eyes were brimming with joy, hinting
that his plan had succeeded.
“Great timing!” Yang Qing thundered at the nine great Mountain Chieftains who came to
corner him.
Suddenly, the beast head on his helmet exploded into a vast cloud of silver mist, swiftly
congealing into a gigantic ape suffused with a glowing red light.
“Third Grade Yao Core!”
Lu Yu cried out in surprise, giving off a faint feeling that he’d been frightened out of his
wits. Even the nine Mountain Chieftains surrounding him also jumped in shock.
Before they could even turn to run, the gigantic ape, suffused with red light amidst silver,
struck out with a punch, eliciting a terrible scream from Lu Yu, as a deep hole was
hollowed out directly into the ground. Lu Yu and the other calvaries were instantly
smashed into meat patty.
“Surrender!”
One of the Mountain Chieftains yelled loudly, but it appeared to be too late. Earlier they
refused to surrender when they wanted Yang Qing’s life, and now they themselves wanted
to surrender? Where were they when the first offer of surrender was given? Why didn’t
they take it then?
How could Yang Qing let them get away with it? Above him, the gigantic ape spread its
arms and started to swing them around, violently sweeping everything in sight.
A series of ‘bangs’ loudly resounded and the nine Mountain Chieftains who couldn’t
manage to dodge in time were flung backwards, spitting out blood as they went. Even
their mounts suffered a similar fate.
The sudden change in situation stupefied the others. Lu Yu’s underlings who had charged
out recovered from the shock before immediately turning their heads and running madly
away to make their escape!
The men ranked highest in strength had all been beheaded by Yang Qing. After they lost
all those who could have stood their ground against the enemies, Lu Yu’s group simply
couldn’t engage in the fight anymore. What’s more, the guy who had shouted ‘surrender’
had also been killed regardless, so it would be weird if the others didn’t run away.
Miao Yi, who was being forced to charge ahead by Qin Weiwei, stopped to stare at Yan
Xiu, both of them speechless. Just now Miao Yi had said it would be great if Yang Qing
had a Third Grade Yao Core at his disposal, but Yan Xiu had replied that it was
impossible, but who would have predicted that Yang Qing had really gotten a hold of a
Third Grade transcendence artifact. With one battle, the victor had been decided!
“Yang Qing is ruthless. He was afraid of Lu Yu and his trusted aides escaping so he
deliberately didn’t reveal the Third Grade transcendence artifact right at the beginning.
Then he eliminated all their forces in one move, ridding himself of future trouble!”
Yan Xiu quietly transmitted his voice to explain.
Once Yang Qing wiped out Lu Yu and his strongest forces, he immediately led his
approaching troops to charge in the enemy’s direction!
More than a hundred men rushed forward, until the cultivators who couldn’t escape in
time were all killed by the assaulting men of Mount Shaotai charging towards them. And
those at the front who had already fallen in battle were all practically South Edict Manor’s
core cultivators, as the majority of them were Cave Masters or the like.
For all the people who had charged down on this side, none of them would be shown
mercy. The more empty seats there were, the higher chances one would get. It was a
bloody clash all along the way.
Miao Yi and Yan Xiu worked together to give chase and kill a White Lotus Fourth Grade
cultivator. Abruptly, three sharp arrows came whooshing down on them. In the midst of
being terrified, the man revolved his spear to knock the arrows away with great speed.
But Yan Xiu let out a snarl, he swung the broad axe in his hand, hitting the man right in
the middle of his back.
The madly approaching Yan Xiu struck out with his broad axe, until blood splattered up
high into the sky. The strike of his axe cut down his head and as he brushed past the man,
he speedily pulled out the other broad axe from the man’s body into his hand, once again
continuing to dash forward as he screamed ‘Attack!’.
Miao Yi was amazed, realization dawning on him that Yan Xiu was like a different man,
looking as though he had become valiant and fearless of death. Was this the same Shi
Xiang who had told him the principle of surrendering?
After madly chasing their opponents for a long distance, Yang Qing saw that he could no
longer catch up to the remaining forces. He put away the transcendence artifacts he wore
on his head and shoulders. His voice resounded like a sudden clap of thunder as he waved
his spear and shouted, “Victory has been decided! Distribute the forces! Clear and occupy
the respective mountains!”
Judging by his complexion, it was clear that he had heavily depleted his transcendence
energy. After all, he had simultaneously handled multiple transcendence artifacts, all while
engaging in the fierce battle. He needed to find a place to recover his transcendence
energy.
Clearly, the crowd of Mount Shaotai had planned properly in advance before deciding to
revolt. It was for this reason that they were now promptly dividing the forces into multiple
lines without hesitation. Evidently, they all knew their roles and assigned destinations, and
proceeded to charge ahead on their journey forth.
Then Qin Weiwei led her troops from Hundred Blossoms Cave, following Yang Qing all
the way as they headed straight to the nearby East Arrival Cave.
Inclusive of Yang Qing’s personal men, the party was made up of around twenty people.
In less than half a day, they rushed upon East Arrival Cave and practically did not
encounter any resistance. They were also unable to withstand anymore attacks.
The moment they occupied East Arrival Cave, Yang Qing immediately went to find a
place to recover his transcendence energy. At a time like this, the general must constantly
be at his best condition to deal with any mishaps!
Qin Weiwei again ordered three White Lotus Third Grade cultivators to make haste to East
Arrival City to keep watch. This was to ensure they could guard against the cultivators
from the former East Arrival Cave who had fled in disarray, and to prevent them seizing
the opportunity to take off with their belongings in the city.
During night fall, one of Qin Weiwei’s underlings came hurrying to Qin Weiwei,
reporting, “The surviving members of East Arrival Cave have supposedly already made
their escape. They have not disturbed the peace in the city. All the survivor’s family
members were sent into the Manor of Sincere Hope. We’ve placed our men inside to lie in
wait, to see whether we can capture the survivors who might come forward to rescue
them.”
“Very good!” Qin Weiwei nodded her head in praise.
On the side, Yan Xiu discreetly transmitted his voice to Miao Yi, “A change of sovereign
brings a change of ministers. In the blink of an eye, South Edict Manor has switched skies.
The cultivators who ran away will be safe, but their family members are doomed. I’m
afraid in this lifetime, they will spend their last years inside the Manor of Sincere Hope.
The Manor of Sincere Hope isn’t exactly a proper place for people to live in.”
Miao Yi abruptly froze in place. It wasn’t clear what he’d just recalled, he cupped his fists
at Qin Weiwei to apologize before quickly darting out of East Arrival Grand Hall. He
found Charcoal and leapt onto it, directly rushing out of the main gate and wildly
galloping away.
Qin Weiwei strolled slowly to the doorway of the grand hall and stood with her hands
clasped behind her back as she frowned, “What is he planning to do?”
At present, she didn’t believe that Miao Yi planned to escape. Since the whole of South
Edict Manor had been conquered, if he ran now then he’d be an idiot. What’s more, if he
had wanted to run in the first place, he would have done it ages ago. That fatty dragon
steed’s speed was fast.
Startled, Yan Xiu suddenly cried out unexpectedly, “Not good!”
Qin Weiwei turned her head and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Yan Xiu was also afraid Miao Yi would stir up trouble, so he reported at once, “Miao Yi
has a good friend at East Arrival Cave. He’s the one who recommended Miao Yi to go to
Transient Light Cave. I’m afraid he’s going to see whether his friend’s family is still there
or not.”
As he expected, Miao Yi went alone to charge straight into East Arrival City, arriving
outside of the residence of Chen Fei’s niece, Ji Xiufang, only to be greeted by the sight of
a seal on the residence’s main gate.
Miao Yi, for the sake of verifying the conjecture in his heart, immediately returned to his
house and asked a commoner by the roadside who held a look of admiration, “Where has
the master of this residence gone to?”
An old man boldly replied, “Reporting to Immortal, I’m not sure what kind of crime the
master of this residence committed. I heard they’ve already been carted off to the Manor
of Sincere Hope by the officials. It’s a pity the workers were implicated. They were dutiful
people from the East Arrival City, and all of them came from good families.”
Miao Yi asked again, “Where is this city’s Manor of Sincere Hope located?”
The old man replied, “Answering the Immortal, it’s in the city central beside the temple.
It’s very easy to find.”
“Thank you very much, sir!” Miao Yi thanked him, quickly turned and went off, making a
beeline for the temple.
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 41: A Small Favor

He was no stranger to temples. Every city had one as it was a place used to gather the
power of will from the followers.
Arriving near the temple, in one glance he saw a residence with a courtyard, with an
unbroken chain of roofs and towering fences. On the main gate was a suspended
horizontal board inscribed with the words ‘Manor of Sincere Hope’. The main gate was
tightly shut, and lanterns were already hung in the doorway. Guards holding onto their
blades stood to both sides of the main gate.
Charcoal carried Miao Yi straight ahead, who was disinclined to engage in further inanity.
Because he knew what kind of place the Manor of Sincere Hope was, the people who were
just sent in were very likely to suffer. Not to mention, Ji Xiufang was a young married
woman with good looks, so god knows what the guards would do to her inside those
walls. The longer she stayed, he dreaded the more dangerous it would become.
With a rumbling sound, Charcoal came charging and collided head first onto the main
gate, breaking it into pieces.
And not just the main gate, Charcoal was capable of even collapsing a city wall. Carrying
Miao Yi on its back, it charged into the courtyard inside, alarming the guards by the
doorway to flee ignominiously.
Meanwhile, two cultivators, both with a three-petaled White Lotus glowing faintly
between their brows, gripped spears as they went rushing out, pointing their weapons
directly at Miao Yi.
These two men were two of Qin Weiwei’s subordinates, and had also previously fought
Miao Yi hand to hand without a victor being declared.
Glancing at the main gate which was now in pieces, one of them frowned and said, “Miao
Yi? It’s you! What are you doing here?”
Miao Yi cupped his fists and replied, “Can I trouble both of you to grant me a favor, let
me take a few people away!”
“Not a problem.” The man extended his hand, saying, “Do you have the Mountain
Chieftain’s or the Cave Master’s law edict?”
“No!” Miao Yi shook his head. “Which is why I asked both of you to grant me a favour!”
The man refused. “Usually we would not mind to give you this face, but today is out of
the question. As to why we’re keeping watch here, I’m sure you know very well yourself.”
Miao Yi said, “I came in haste so I didn’t think of it at the time. Hand them over to me
first. I’ll report back to Cave Master Qin after this. If anything happens, I will bear the
responsibility on my own!”
The other man shook his head and uttered, “I’m afraid that won’t do!”
Miao Yi asked, “Can you let me have a look at them first?”
The man again shook his head. “Bring us the law edict, then we’ll talk.”
They wouldn’t even allow him to see them. Miao Yi felt that the man, a wolf in sheep’s
clothing, was deliberately making things difficult for him. His face sank, and before their
eyes, a glowing lotus flower appeared between his brow. With deliberation, he pointed the
spear he held in his hand at the two men as he coldly spoke, “You’re certain you won’t
give me this face?”
Agitated, the other man raged on at once, “You seriously think we’re afraid of you?!”
Back then, when a lot of people acted together to fight Miao Yi, they were unable to take
him down for a long duration of time. This already made them seethe with rage. If not for
the fact that Miao Yi had received high recognition from Yang Qing, both of them would
never be this courteous to Miao Yi. Now Miao Yi was making trouble for no reason, so to
them, it was tantamount to seizing the opportunity.
Charcoal’s four hooves were restless, as it felt Miao Yi’s fury.
When it seemed that they were about to be on the verge of battling it out, Qin Weiwei’s
voice came through from outside the courtyard walls, “STOP!”
Startled, both of them quickly vanished the glowing lotus flowers between their brows,
only to hear Qin Weiwei’s voice call out once more, “Hand them over to him.”
The two cultivators quickly shared a glance, and together they faced the direction of the
voice coming from outside the courtyard walls, cupped their hands and replied,
“Understood!”
One of them turned to ask Miao Yi, “Who do you want?”
Miao Yi enunciated, “Ji Xiufang! The person who was just sent here!”
The man looked towards the official, who was hiding under the roof trembling with fear,
“Bring the person here.”
The official promptly nodded his head and bowed before leaving. Not long after, he
brought Ji Xiufang over, who had been weeping til her eyes were red and swollen.
Judging by the look of Ji Xiufang, she didn’t appear to have endured any suffering.
Originally it wasn’t supposed to be this fortunate. It was only because two Immortals
suddenly came to stand guard at the Manor of Sincere Hope. The guards inside didn’t
understand what was going on so they didn’t dare to act recklessly. Otherwise, it wouldn’t
be this fortunate indeed.
At first, Ji Xiufang was stunned the moment she laid eyes on Miao Yi. She soon broke into
a run and plopped down kneeling in front of Charcoal, looking a complete mess as she
cried, “Sir Miao, please save my son! Please, on my uncle’s account, save my son! I’m
begging you…”
Miao Yi jumped down from the dragon steed and helped her up with both hands, asking,
“Did they make things hard for you?”
As he said that, the guards inside the courtyard were scared to the point they were
shivering. They feared that Ji Xiufang would say things that would be unpleasant to hear.
Ji Xiufang wept endlessly, shaking her head as she cried, “Sir Miao, please save my son!
He’s still young!”
Miao Yi immediately turned around and ordered, “Bring all the people you took from her
home out right now!”
Needless to say, people young and old were brought out with haste, including the steward
that Miao Yi was acquainted with.
Ji Xiufang threw her arms around her son on the spot, sobbing with abandon, then knelt
down in front of Miao Yi and immediately kowtowed.
Miao Yi helped her up. “Go. Everything is okay now. Go home!”
Under the public eyes of many, he personally escorted the large crowd back to the grand
manor’s gate formerly belonging to Ji Xiufang. When he saw the seal on the main gate, he
spun around and shouted, “Call the City Lord over!”
Meanwhile, Yan Xiu was currently hiding at a certain dark corner in the street, watching
the scene unfolding in front of his eyes with Qin Weiwei by his side.
He didn’t need to wait long. Soon, a fat and bulky official, accompanied by a number of
his subordinates hurried over urgently on their horses.
Miao Yi refused to listen to a word of their nonsense, each sentence filled with fear and
trepidation. He pointed at the main gate. “Dear City Lord, if any mishaps were to happen
to this family in the future, you’ll be the first person I’ll take care of. Tear off the seal and
open the gates!”
It was impossible for him to always be at Ji Xiufang’s side looking over her. The fate of
Chen Fei was also uncertain as to whether he was dead or alive. But if it weren’t for Chen
Fei’s referral back then, he wasn’t sure where he’d be wandering now. This was all done to
repay back his debt of gratitude. The reason why he had gone rampant was to make his
attitude known that he would protect their entire family, so as to prevent others from
targeting them for being without support and protection.
“Hmph! What a high imposing manner!” Qin Weiwei curled her lips as she coldly scoffed.
At the side, Yan Xiu forcefully laughed for a while, his eyes trailing Miao Yi as he sent Ji
Xiufang and her family back into the manor.
By the time Miao Yi came out, he again saw Miao Yi speak to the City Lord who was
nodding his head and bowing. “Immediately return anything that’s missing from the
residence. I want your life if they’re missing even one chopstick!”
“Yes yes yes!” The City Lord complied at once, while wiping away the sweat breaking out
from his face. He ordered his subordinates to do as he commanded without delay.
In another corner, Chen Fei, who was dressed up in disguise witnessed the scene with his
own eyes. He let out a soft sigh of relief and murmured, “Brother Miao, I, Chen Fei, will
remember this great kindness you bestowed on my family. I’ll repay it once there’s a
chance in the future!”
Since Miao Yi had stepped forth to take responsibility, he could now leave feeling at ease.
He quietly turned around towards the streets, before disappearing into the darkness.
Miao Yi rode Charcoal in a swift gallop out the city, but then ran into both Qin Weiwei
and Yan Xiu who were waiting outside. He quickly came to a halt, cupped his hands and
said, “Thank you, Cave Master, for helping me!”
Qin Weiwei had not specially come over to help out of good intentions. It was because
Yang Qing, after he came out from recuperating his transcendence energy, had met Yan
Xiu by chance and asked about Miao Yi. After he found out the reason, Yang Qing greatly
praised Miao Yi, remarking that Miao Yi was a loyal and righteous man who, having
received a small favor by others in times of need, he repaid it back with great deeds.
Therefore, he had sent Qin Weiwei to personally come here, to avoid any potential
mishaps from happening.
All he saw was Qin Weiwei revealing a look of ridicule on her face. “That little wife is
quite a looker. I thought you’d spend the night over at her place. ”
“She’s not as pretty as you…”
Miao Yi immediately complimented. After knowing this woman was Yang Qing’s adopted
daughter, his attitude had become more courteous towards her. But when the words came
out of his mouth, he immediately realized they sounded wrong, as though what he said
was filled with innuendoes.
Yan Xiu’s cheeks immediately swelled, as he tried hard to stifle his laughter. He noticed
that Miao Yi’s response was too superb. No matter how he listened to it, it still sounded
like, ‘She’s not as pretty as you, so if I wanted to sleep, I’d rather sleep with you.’
At the same time, he was also scared and couldn’t help but be on the edge for Miao Yi.
Miao Yi himself was also feeling nervous, and wanted to slap himself for that remark.
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 42: Hidden Agenda (1)

Qin Weiwei’s expression turned sour, giving off a feeling that she was about to fly into a
rage, but she eventually restrained herself in the end. It was because she could tell that
Miao Yi didn’t mean a word of what he’d said. If she treated it seriously, then she really
would be letting Miao Yi take advantage of her.
She scoffed coldly, her face tightened as she speedily rode away on her dragon steed.With
a guilty expression, Miao Yi and Yan Xiu both cast a look at each other. The latter give a
thumbs-up sign to show a ‘You have the guts to be presumptuous with Qin Weiwei’ hand
gesture. The former drew back his neck, his face sweating profusely. Since when had he
become this vile and despicable, and had what it took to utter such lewd words?Both of
them hurriedly rode their dragon steeds, giving chase after that fluttering white skirt under
the moonlight…
Once they returned to East Arrival Cave, they immediately accompanied Yang Qing as he
rushed throughout the night, charging straight towards South Edict Manor. That was the
place which really required Yang Qing to keep watch over…South Edict City was a huge
city filled with millions of followers. It was Miao Yi’s first time to see such a massive city
and he was surprised at how everything was flourishing there. He had disguised himself as
an ordinary person with Yan Xiu, and they loitered around the street observing the local
conditions and customs, all the while feasting on fine delicacies.
Of course, they weren’t just here to have fun. They had been dispatched to patrol
surreptitiously, to see if any of the surviving members of Lu Yu’s faction would cause a
ruckus. Guaranteeing that the followers in their domain lived in peace and could work
happily was a major matter. Or else, if things became chaotic in this city filled with
millions of people, it would have an extreme effect on gathering the Orbs of Will.
One must bear in mind that just the number of followers in this city alone was almost
equivalent to the number in Mount Shaotai overseen by Yang Qing back in the day. It had
yet to include the other ten mountains.
Nowadays, this city had turned into the forbidden domain of Yang Qing, the Manor Head
of South Edict Manor. The domains of the other ten mountains would then be divided and
awarded to the rest based on individual merit. However, those domains would still be
considered his, it was only South Edict City that would be directly governed by Yang
Qing.
Consequently, Yang Qing naturally placed extreme importance on the administration of
this capital. He not only dispatched a large number of cultivators to undergo
investigations, both openly and in secret. At the same time he had also summoned the
local officials to declare Lu Yu’s crimes, saying that he had offered his life to crusade
against them, and had already beheaded the traitor Lu Yu as a result.
Of course, after threats, offering platitudes was something they wouldn’t disregard. After
all, the cultivators under Yang Qing prioritised cultivation, so they wouldn’t have much
experience in meddling in local affairs,as they frequently spent their time entering closed-
door seclusion training. As a result, if they were to involve themselves in dealing with
such matters, they would only make things worse. In the end, they would need to depend
on the local officials when it came to administering local affairs.
More than ten days later, the Cave Masters who had seized control and cleared each of the
mountains, as well as Lan Yumen’s disciples who had accompanied them in the
expedition, hurried over one after another, assembling in South Edict Manor.
Situated among the winding and undulating grand mountain ranges was a great palace,
where the ancient trees rose up high to the sky, the exotic flowers and herbs resembled
brocades and all kinds of birds and animals lingered in one’s sight. Within this vast palace,
a pavilion towered above the waters, gathering the earth’s riches and honors together with
the immortal clan, the entirety of it all was faintly discernable.
To Miao Yi, the Transient Light Cave was like an inconspicuous Earthen Temple when
compared with this South Edict Manor.
Each and everyone of the domain’s respective Cave Masters were in high spirits and full
of joy. They lined up, and one after another ascended the tall steps, entering the
magnificent South Edict Manor Grand Hall.
It was impossible not to be happy, because it was time for them to be rewarded based on
their merits.
The gains from this battle were very impressive. Yang Qing had taken possession of the
entire South Edict Manor which meant that their followers had expanded by at least
tenfold. The leaders under him naturally rose with the tides. Those who were going to be
promoted to Mountain Chieftains from Cave Masters, their followers had more or less
increased tenfold too. This signified that henceforth the Orbs of Will gathered every year
had also been raised tenfold.
WItnessing those people entering, Miao Yi paced back and forth in the long hallway of the
waterside pavillion, his heart itching. Unfortunately, since he hadn’t been summoned, he
was still not qualified enough to enter the grand hall.
In his heart, he was impatient to know whether Yang Qing would still remember him,
hoping that Yang QIng wouldn’t destroy the bridge after crossing the river and completely
forgetting about him.
But, Yang Qing obviously wasn’t the kind of man he thought he was. Not long after the
domain’s respective Cave Masters entered the grand hall, he noticed a beautiful woman
dressed in green robes exiting the hall. In a flash, she floated to the long corridor of the
water pavilion at the side of the hall, the blooming seven-petaled White Lotus between her
brows concealing itself, as she leisurely strolled toward him.
When Miao Yi saw her walking towards him, his heart stirred and happiness immediately
flashed through his eyes. He quickly walked up to her, cupping his hands as he bowed in
salute, ”Miao Yi greets Little Auntie.”
After staying here for a few days, he gradually figured out who Yang Qing’s trusted aides
were at his side. He had two personal handmaidens. One was named Qing Mei while the
other was called Qing Ju.
The two servant girls had been serving at Yang Qing’s side ever since he was a Cave
Master and now they already had a cultivation base at White Lotus Seventh Grade.
Everyone who served under Yang Qing treated the two handmaidens courteously,
addressing Qing Mei as Elder Auntie, and Qing Ju as Little Auntie.
And the Little Auntie in front of him was naturally Qing Ju.
“There’s no need to be over courteous!” Qing Ju raised her hand to humbly help him up.
She clearly knew that Yang Qing held Miao Yi in high regard. She gave a faint smile as
she said, “Miao Yi, Manor Head has summoned you to enter the hall to have an audience.”
Now, everyone did not address Yang Qing as Mountain Chieftain anymore and were
already officially calling him Manor Head.
Miao Yi accepted the order solemnly, trailing behind her as he followed.
Inside the grand hall, Yang Qing had already taken off his martial attire, and was instead
donned in a brocade robe as he sat in the high seat, his presence extraordinary. All his
subordinates were divided into two lines on both sides, akin to court officials attending an
imperial court.
As the both of them entered the grand hall, all eyes were suddenly on Miao Yi. Qin
Weiwei, who stood at the very end, gritted her teeth the very moment she saw him. That
bastard dared to sexually harass me!
Neither too fast nor too slow, Qing Ju strolled to Yang Qing’s right side and stood
properly. The other Elder Auntie, Qing Mei, had then been standing at the left side of
Yang Qing’s seat.
Walking to the empty space in the middle of the lines of ‘court officials’, Miao Yi stood
there, cupped his hands and bowed, “I come to pay my respects to Manor Head!”
Yang Qing gave a frivolous laugh, raising his hand to indicate he could skip the
formalities. He turned to the various people standing beneath and said, “I once promised
him the Cave Master seat for Transient Light Cave and I’ll keep my word! Transient Light
Cave belonged under Du Zhangxing of Mount Calming Sea. Now that Du Zhangxing has
died, who would like to come forward and accept the position of Mount Calming Sea’s
Mountain Chieftain? And also take this kid along with you in passing?”
Miao Yi was overflowing with ecstasy. It’s here. It’s finally here. I’m going to be a Cave
Master….
But on the surface, he still acted calm. He had a request, but from the beginning he was
unsure as to whether he should ask.
For the most part, everyone also looked at each other, laughing heartily. The feeling of
partitioning domains was truly satisfying.
This was as it should be— everyone would eventually get their own share so there was no
need for them to urgently jump out. Otherwise,they would look very unsightly.
However, there seemed to be two people who didn’t look happy, one of them was Qin
Weiwei, and the other then stepped out.
Xiong Xiao stepped forward and cupped his fists. “Manor Head, I have a remark which
I’m uncertain whether it’s right for me to say.”
Yang Qing was in a good mood. He nodded his head and obliged, “Speak your mind!”
Xiong Xiao stared at Miao Yi and explained, “Miao Yi is nothing more than a prisoner. He
only has a mere, insignificant cultivation base at White Lotus First Grade, and has not
performed an ounce of an accomplishment. If you were to hastily reward him the seat of
Cave Master, I’m afraid it will lead to dissatisfaction in the hearts of those old
subordinates who have followed Manor Head for many years. ”
Miao Yi was stunned. He quickly raised his head to look at Xiong Xiao, thinking to
himself, spoiling my good thing, I don’t think I have a feud with you?
Yang Qing creased his brows, but after seeing the highly disapproving looks on everyone
who were present, he dropped his gaze onto Xiong Xiao as he asked, “Could it be that you
want me to go back on my word?”
“No! Manor Head’s promise is worth one thousand in gold. Naturally, you will keep your
word!” Xiong Xiao once again cupped his fists and continued, “I’m just considering this
matter for Manor Head’s sake. I feel, why not formulate a statement to let others know
that no matter how big or small the accomplishment is, as long as they can spare no effort
to handle affairs for Manor Head, Manor Head would be generous in conferring. Then
they’ll know it’s because he has worked for Manor Head to obtain the seat of Cave Master
and won’t say as much. At least on the bright side, it will block the gossip on everyone’s
mouth.”
Yang Qing nodded his head in agreement. “Then what do you think we should make him
do?”
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 43: Hidden Agenda (2)

Xiong Xiao replied, “Within the region under my administration, there is a ghost
cultivator causing mischief. He keeps attacking and disturbing the peace of the followers
who come and go in passing. When I received word of his misdeeds, I immediately sent a
White Lotus Third Grade cultivator to go forth and exterminate the problem. When they
fought, they were neck and neck in their level of strength, which ended with his escape. I
wanted to send out more manpower to wipe him out. But by sheer luck, Manor Head
launched his army so I didn’t have the time to punish him. I was going to deal with that
ghost afterwards anyway, but now that I think about it, why not send Miao Yi to perform
this meritorious service!”
Miao Yi stared at him with widened eyes. That f*cking dog, trying to make me go deal
with a ghost cultivator who’s on par with a White Lotus Third Grade cultivator. Does he
want me to distinguish myself or does he want to kill me?
Everyone stared at Xiong Xiao, they were clearly having the same thoughts.
Yang Qing was not an idiot. He said with an expressionless face. “Before this, it was
merely a fluke that Miao Yi managed to behead that White Lotus Third Grade cultivator.
Are you certain that on this journey, he will be able to successfully eliminate that ghost
cultivator?”
Xiong Xiao laughed, “This was inherently part of my duties within my realm. Naturally, I
cannot ignore it. I will dispatch two White Lotus Third Grade cultivators to accompany
him to set forth together. In all likelihood, there shouldn’t be any issues for him to perform
this deed.”
A sudden realization dawned on everyone present. He really did find an excuse to give
that kid Miao Yi credit. This Xiong Xiao sure knew how to kiss the Manor Head’s ass. He
was able to so even just by simply beating around the bush.
Miao Yi let out a sigh of relief in his heart. This was much better.
Yang Qing laughed while nodding his head. He looked at Miao Yi and said, “Miao Yi, you
heard what he said. If you agree to go perform this deed, you can go directly to Transient
Light Cave and take up the Cave Master post after you come back.”
“I’m willing to set forth!” Miao Yi responded readily. After going through so many ups
and downs, he could finally voice out what he had a hard time saying earlier. He cupped
his fists and continued, “I only have one bold request to make, and I hope Manor Head can
grant me this request.”
Qin Weiwei had a scornful look on her face. This guy had the cheek to negotiate with the
Manor Head.
However, Yang Qing was not a petty man in that aspect. He dismissed it with a laugh,
nodding his head as he replied, “Speak!”
Miao Yi attempted to ask, “Manor Head. Can you change Transient Light Cave to East
Arrival Cave? What I mean is, if I perform the deed and come back, can you let me
become the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave?”
Everyone stood gazing at each other. There was no difference in followers for Transient
Light Cave and East Arrival Cave. There wasn’t any special local product either within
that realm, so what would he gain by switching?
Yang Qing was taken aback by his question. Soon after, he believed he understood the
reason why. He recalled Ji Xiufang who Miao Yi had previously gone to rescue from the
Manor of Sincere Hope. He figured it was in order to make things easier for him to take
care of her in passing.
In fact, this was only part of the reason. If he really had intentions to take care of her, if
worse comes to worse, he could have moved her to Transient Light City to settle down
after becoming the Cave Master of Transient Light Cave.
The most important thing was that Miao Yi had taken a fancy to the geographical location
of East Arrival Cave, situated right by the seaside. Atter being reminded by Yan Xiu and
coming to a realization as to why he could withstand the pressure of the higher rank
cultivator’s transcendence energy, he felt he shouldn’t abandon the cultivation method Lao
Bai had taught him. He should continue on with it.
“I will allow this!” Yang Qing agreed.
He then waved his hand to indicate him to step down, as the upcoming higher tier
appointments weren’t something that Miao Yi with his current rank could participate in.
Miao Yi naturally thanked him and stepped down, but the annoyed feeling he had towards
Xiong Xiao still lingered in his heart. Seeing that he was about to eat the fatty meat which
was so close in his grasp, in the end he swallowed a fly first, so he felt extremely awkward
about it. Why was it so difficult to become a Cave Master?
Inside the grand hall, Yang Qing’s voice once again boomed, “Regardless of Transient
Light Cave or East Arrival Cave, they all belong to Mount Calming Sea. Who’s willing to
move forward to oversee Mount Calming Sea?”
The reason why nobody fought for this seat was because the decision had already been
made behind closed doors earlier on.
Beforehand, Elder Auntie Qing Mei had specially stepped in to personally notify everyone
to come forth, one-by-one, to discuss official business at the grand hall. At the time, she
had appeared to have spoken something in a casual manner—it goes without saying that
the Manor Head’s wish is to promote all nine Cave Masters under him to become
Mountain Chieftains, with the exception of Qin Weiwei . As for the remaining mountain,
that will be handed over to Lan Yumen, because Qin Weiwei’s cultivation base is slightly
lower. Unfortunately the Cave Master of Colossal Ram Cave died before gaining victory,
and we absolutely can’t give two mountains away to Lan Yumen. It’s better to hand it over
to our own people, so that we can all be at ease, isn’t that right?
Everyone naturally nodded their heads in agreement. It was impossible for them to say it
would be more suitable to hand it over to outsiders, because wouldn’t that make them a
person that bites the hand that feeds them?
Although Elder Auntie Qing Mei seemed to be asking casually, everyone understood well
in their hearts. Qin Weiwei was mentioned twice and she then said our own people. One
can well imagine the profound meaning hidden behind her words, so there was no need to
state it clearly.
Everyone also understood that there were some matters that Yang Qing would have
difficulty in voicing out. He was only borrowing the mouth of Elder Auntie to convey his
hint.
Yang Qing wanted to support his own daughter to take up the post, he wanted to let his
own daughter take in more incense and power of will, and he wanted very much to quickly
raise his own daughter’s cultivation base, so what kind of objection could they have? If it
were them, once they had taken up their seats as Mountain Chieftains, they also wanted to
promote their own men. Furthermore, they would enact it the moment they returned.
In the end from the very beginning, Yang Qing had made use of Miao Yi to mention the
seat of Mountain Chieftain for Mount Calming Sea. Everyone had already guessed what
kind of thoughts Yang Qing had in mind. Even Miao Yi, with a cultivation at White Lotus
First Grade was deemed qualified to be a Cave Master, so that person….why couldn’t she
then become Mount Calming Sea’s Mountain Chieftain?
Yang Qing had already prepared the opening statement for everyone else, all he needed to
do now was to wait for everyone to take the bait.
Therefore, Xiong Xiao once again rushed before others and cupped his fists. “Manor
Head, I believe Cave Master Qin of the Hundred Blossoms Cave can take up the post.”
“I second the motion!”
“I agree!”
His men, who had been with him since Mount Shaotai, all stepped forward, agreeing in
succession, except for Qin Weiwei who stood at the same place unmoving. This kind of
matter obviously would not look good on her if she stepped forth to speak on her behalf.
Yang Qing cast a glance at Qin Weiwei before saying hesitantly, “She only has a
cultivation base at White Lotus Fifth Grade. Wouldn’t it be inappropriate to appoint her as
the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Calming Sea?”
Someone hurriedly replied, “Miao Yi with a cultivation at White Lotus First Grade can be
a Cave Master, so why can’t Cave Master Qin be the Mountain Chieftain? I believe that
we mustn’t shun relatives when considering talent!”
Xiong Xiao continued again, “I recalled Manor Head once said this about Miao Yi, as long
as he can convince the masses, then it’s alright!” He then turned to ask others in reply,
“Cave Master Qin to garrison the Mountain Chieftain’s seat for Mount Calming Sea, is
everyone satisfied? In any case, I, Xiong Xiao, hold both hands up in approval.”
“I approve!”
“I approve!”
The respective Cave Masters who had yet to become Mountain Chieftains voiced out their
support of the proposal. The feelings of the crowd were intense, as though they couldn’t
be convinced of anyone else being the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Calming Sea, apart
from Qin Weiwei.
Lan Yumen’s men stared at each other, at a complete loss. The Cave Master of Colossal
Ram Cave had fallen in battle, so the seat was unoccupied. They originally wanted to try
and fight for it because the reason why they could win this war was due to the agreement
between Lan Yumen and Yang Qing; if it weren’t for their support and the Third Grade
Yao Core given to Yang Qing, it would have been impossible for the battle to end in
victory.
They intended to wait until the two Mountain Chieftain seats were left unoccupied, then
take possession of them together.
Well now, a large number of people supported Qin Weiwei in taking up the post. The
principle of majority rules, it left one with no control over matters. Besides, Qin Weiwei
was Yang Qing’s adopted daughter. It wouldn’t be proper for them to stubbornly object to
it since after all, a large number of their men would be serving under Yang Qing in the
future, and it wouldn’t do them any good to clearly show themselves not giving face to
Yang Qing.
Lan Yumen’s men were simply stifled with no room to object..
Seeing everyone insisting on it, Yang Qing revealed a look of reluctance, sighing as he
said, “Alright! Qin Weiwei, are you willing to take up the post of Mountain Chieftain of
Mount Calming Sea?”
In an immediate action, Qin Weiwei stepped forward and cupped her fists, “I’ll do my
utmost, and will not disappoint Manor Head and South Edict comrades’ great
expectations! ”
“Then it is decided!” Yang Qing complied with the crowd’s opinion and waved his hand,
thus settling the Mountain Chieftain seat of Mount Calming Sea.
In the following appointments, Xiong Xiao took over Yang Qing’s former seat, and
became the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Shaotai. One by one, the other respective Cave
Masters also became Mountain Chieftains.
Lan Yumen only managed to claim one Mountain Chieftain seat, but they weren’t at a loss
either, as they had already made promises with Yang Qing beforehand. Once they
conquered South Edict Manor, a large amount of empty seats under every mountain and
cave were to be first given to Lan Yumen’s disciples.
Which meant from now onwards, the majority of Lan Yumen’s disciples on the whole
became people who could officially indulge themselves in incense and power of will. Not
only that, they were also granted other allowances. They no longer had to go around
painstakingly scavenging for various types of items to slowly increase their cultivation
base. This kind of opportunity wasn’t something that every sect could chance upon.
Because regardless of a sect’s strength, and even if your own strength was powerful, it
would never be more powerful than the Six Sages of Heaven and Earth. The Six Sages of
Heaven and Earth implemented such rules to suppress every sect, in order to keep them
from becoming arrogant. No matter which sect wanted to enter this system, they would
need to obtain consent. Even if they managed to join, they would still need to uphold this
system. Those who dared to force their way in can only attempt to do so!
Even if Lan Yumen had the guts of ten men, he still wouldn’t dare to go up against Mu
Fanjun, the Immortal Sage from Realm Beyond Heaven.
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 44: Hidden Agenda (3)

Lastly, Yang Qing stood up and warned, “After everyone heads back, be sure to settle
down your region. Anyone who disturbs the peaceful life of South Edict’s followers will,
therefore, affect the number of Orbs of Will being transferred at the end of the year. This
will incur the wrath of the Hall Master, so if I am not able to deliver my duties, don’t
blame me for not considering old friendships!”
“We obey the law decree!” the crowd promised in unison.
After discussing official business matters and everyone had received what they needed,
they walked out of the grand hall in happiness, cupping their hands at each other as they
bade their farewells. They were all preparing to ascend to the higher seats to live it up,
each of them in a hurry to head home.
Arriving at the grand hall’s entrance, Qin Weiwei tilted her head, her gaze locked onto
Miao Yi from afar who was walking beside Yan Xiu. Her lips curled into a mocking smile
as she looked on. It seemed like there were going to be more than enough opportunities for
her to torture that guy in the future.
If Miao Yi found out Qin Weiwei was going to become his own immediate superior, it’s
unclear what kind of thoughts would run through his mind…
“Both of you are not enemies. And he’s not necessarily targeting you. Besides, with your
cultivation base, you definitely need some kind of explanation to convince the masses.
Maybe he’s really looking out for you.”
Yan Xiu, who was walking with Miao Yi, muttered ambiguously in an attempt to persuade
the other after listening to his prattle.
“Looking out for me? I can’t tell. I was born a street butcher and sold pig meat for a
living. Honestly, I’ve already seen all sorts of people so when that guy looked at me, I felt
as if there was something amiss with his eyes. They seemed to be hiding something. In
short, I can’t tell if he’s looking out for me. I need to be more careful.” Miao Yi snorted
twice, the unhappy feeling in his heart lingered on.
He came from the streets. From a young age, he needed to protect his younger brother and
sister. In order to guarantee their safety, he had this habit of not letting anyone get away
with even a tiny fault. He wasn’t lacking in fortitude either. Otherwise, when outsiders laid
their eyes upon this family of three children, it would be easy for them to come up and
bully them.
During that time when he had to face the surrounding adults who’d come to take them
away to the Manor of Merciful Hope, he had been carrying Little Sister on his back with
his hand holding onto Little Brother’s. In a moment of desperation and helplessness, he
had stabbed his thigh with the strike of a blade. It was in that instant that he was forced to
understand the commoner’s principles of surviving.
In a fit of rage, he hadn’t been afraid to kill Huang Cheng and Zhao Xingkui in the
Boundless Secular World. For the sake of forming an alliance with Yan Beihong for his
own protection, he had also dared to stab the other expert in the back surreptitiously. For
the sake of his younger brother and sister’s future, he was willing to give up all he had.
Seeing Luo Zhen and Cao Dingfeng killed with his own eyes, he was able to risk his life
while seething in anger. After being tormented and disgraced by Qin Weiwei, a mere
prisoner like him dared to let Charcoal go unrestrained, kicking with its hind legs to pelt
debris at Qin Weiwei. Learning about Ji Xiufang being in trouble, once again he
immediately rushed to her rescue to pay his debt of gratitude.
Deep down, he knew he wasn’t a good man, but he also knew he wasn’t a bad one either.
That distinctive nature found in ordinary people could also be found in him. In short, if
anyone crossed him, don’t give him a chance to fight back!
“You’re probably thinking too much. With his cultivation base and status, he doesn’t even
need to target you,” Yan Xiu said comfortingly, before coughing as he asked, “Brother,
once you become a Cave Master later, remember to ask for me.”
Miao Yi chuckled and once again gave his word.
Within the pavilions and kiosks, all built around a beautiful lake and mountain landscape,
Chun Xue led two White Lotus Third Grade cultivators from the long hallway outside.
Xiong Xiao’s back faced the three, while he slowly tossed fish food into the pond in front
of him, leading the red carps in the pond to fall over each other in their eagerness to fight
over food.
Chun Xue silently stood at his side while the two cultivators beamed with happiness,
cupping their hands in unison and exclaiming, “Congratulations to Cave Master for being
promoted in glory as Mountain Chieftain of Mount Shaotai!”
After Xiong Xiao tossed away all the fish food he had, he clapped his hands before turning
to laugh, “Zhang Shucheng, Mo Shengtu, I have a task that requires the both of you to
carry out.”
The duo hurriedly bent their heads to obey the order. “Willing to adhere to Mountain
Chieftain’s commands!”
Xiong Xiao beckoned his hand at them, the both of them immediately moved in closer.
Xiong Xiao then whispered something into their ears.
Both of them were surprised at what they’d heard. Mo Shengtu’s facial expression
changed as he said softly, “But, that Miao Yi is someone who has found favor with Manor
Head.”
“Hmm?” Xiong Xiao scoffed heavily with his nostrils, seemingly asking, are you two
Manor Head’s men or mine?
Mo Shengtu corrected himself without delay, “Mountain Chieftain, I didn’t mean anything
else by it. It’s just that the kid seems to be a bit abnormal. You’ve also seen that battle
before. Five people weren’t capable enough to subdue him. We’re afraid we’ll let down
Mountain Chieftain’s great trust in us.”
Xiong Xiao shot a glance at Chun Xue, slightly tilting his head to give a signal.
Immediately, Chun Xue took out a small jade bottle from her sleeve, passing it towards the
two men.
Zhang Shucheng received it into his hand, saying hesitatingly, “This is…”
“Drunken Immortal!” After Xiong Xiao prompted him, he said with understatement, “That
ghost who dares to cause trouble in my territory needs to be wiped out. That kid, I also
don’t want to see him come back alive. And I don’t want the Manor Head to know his
death is connected to me. Both of you know what to do, right?”
Mo Shengtu immediately coated his words with flattery, “We will push the blame of his
death onto that ghost cultivator.”
Pleased with the answer, Xiong Xiao nodded his head. “I have always thought highly of
you both. Make it clean, don’t leave room for any repercussions!”
After he finished, he left with his hands clasped behind his back, with Chun Xue following
quietly behind him.
Zheng Shucheng and Mo Shengtu saw him off and got up, staring speechlessly at each
other.
Both of them couldn’t figure out why the Mountain Chieftain wanted to pick on a nobody.
And the main point was that this nobody was favored by the Manor Head. If something
unfortunate really were to happen, wouldn’t it just make things difficult for himself?
The same principle could apply to them. If the two of them screwed up, they could forget
about living the good life. Their only path forwards was to succeed with no room for
failure…
Yan Xiu didn’t know where he was going and nobody told him anything about it either. In
short, he was still a subordinate of Qin Weiwei, following her as they left South Edict
Manor. He set forth to take up his new post.
On the other hand, Miao Yi left with Xiong Xiao and his forces, rushing to Mount Shaotai
to take up his new post.
Two days later, during the midday, a wave of swiftly galloping dragon steeds came to a
stop at a fork in the road.
With a smile, Xiong Xiao called forth Miao Yi to give him an advisory talk, as well as
encouragement. He wished Miao Yi success in his endeavor and asked him to visit Mount
Shaotai more frequently in the future. His attitude was welcoming, appearing to give face
to Manor Head Yang Qing.
Soon after, Xiong Xiao led his large body of forces to hurry to Mount Shaotai to take up
his new post, leaving Mo Shengtu and Zheng Shucheng behind, together with Miao Yi.
At the fork in the road, the three of them made their introductions and familiarized
themselves with each other. They then continued to speed off in the other direction,
towards Changfeng City!
Hearing the words ‘Changfeng City’ made Miao Yi involuntarily tingle with excitement
since that was his hometown. In spite of everything, he faintly had a feeling of eagerness
to return back home.
It had been more than ten years. Ever since he escaped Changfeng City, over ten years had
passed in the blink of an eye. This filled him with regret, he really wanted to return back
to Changfeng City to see, wanting quite strongly to see, whether those two bastards who’d
prevented him from seeing his younger sister one last time, had survived or not.
“Brother Miao, this isn’t the time to go sightseeing. No one will be able to face Manor
Head’s wrath if we hold up the mission he personally assigned. Once we have completed
the mission, we’ll have all the time in the world to have fun.”
A day later, at a place where Changfeng City could be seen from afar, Zhang Shucheng
stopped Miao Yi’s intention to go into the city.
He didn’t know what kind of past Miao Yi had with Changfeng City. Miao Yi himself
would not say it either. Xiong Xiao would also definitely not reveal the reason behind it.
“Brother Zhang is right. I’m just being silly. Let’s continue to hurry on.”
Miao Yi, mounted on Charcoal, apologized as he chuckled with his fists cupped.
Now, Charcoal seemed to be much thinner. He figured it had something to do with how
they’d recently been on the move without ceasing, and this was going against his fatty life
customs.
The three of them changed directions, the dragon steeds beneath them once again swiftly
galloping forward.
After dashing up a mountain peak, Miao Yi spun his head to look into the distance of
Changfeng City, thinking to himself that Zhang Shucheng was right. It wouldn’t be
appropriate to go back now to kill those two bastards. He had to at least wait until he’d
gotten rid of Zhang Shucheng and Mo Shengtu first.
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 45: Hidden Agenda (4)

Instead of entering Changfeng City, the trio arrived at Changfeng Cave to scout out the
whereabouts of the ghost cultivator.
The majority of Changfeng Cave’s cultivators had followed Xiong Xiao to battle, and later
were led by Xiong Xiao to Mount Shaotai. Supposedly, the Cave Masters of Mount
Shaotai had yet to be confirmed for each respective cave, and so the men of Changfeng
Cave would not be back for a while. At the moment, only one cultivator was left behind to
stand guard and watch over the place.
According to others, it was said that Xiong Xiao had already been assigned as the
Mountain Chieftain of Mount Shaotai, and the cultivator who remained behind for
garrison duty was incredibly ecstatic. Cave Master had risen in rank, and to the old
subordinates below him, even if they all weren’t able to follow suit and receive the same
benefits, they would still be able to bask in the limelight.
After the group surrounding the table enjoyed a delicious meal, the cultivator who stayed
behind at Changfeng Cave brought over a document sent forth by someone sent over from
Changfeng City. It reported of another case of a travelling merchant mysteriously
disappearing around the area of Mount Thousand Buddha.
Miao Yi was originally from Changfeng, so he was no stranger to the place called Mount
Thousand Buddha. According to rumors, it was originally home to many buddhist
temples. Later, Buddhism was then banned and many temples were brought to the
ground.
In the past, he might not have known the reason, but after becoming a cultivator, Miao Yi
knew that it was definitely related to the division of the Six Sages’ domains. Immortal
Sage Mu Fanjun did not want to see his own realm have two different religions. If he was
not treated with honour, would it still be considered his domain? Thus, it had to be
eradicated.
Mo Shengtu closed the document and said, “It looks like that ghost cultivator may most
likely be hidden within Mount Thousand Buddha.”
Miao Yi chuckled, “ Mount Thousand Buddha is huge. It won’t be easy to find someone,
especially when we’re looking for a ghost. How are we going to search for him?”
The cultivator who remained behind replied, “It’s not too hard, the regular travelling
merchants are so frightened that they don’t dare travel through Mount Thousand Buddha,
and since the ghost cultivator needs to hunt humans for his blood meal, without anyone
passing through for a long period of time, he’s bound to lose his endurance. The lot of you
can disguise yourselves as regular travelling merchants and travel there back and forth. I
bet there’s a high chance he’ll take the bait.”
“ Then it’s settled!” nodded Zhang Shu Cheng as he slapped the board, before making it
clear to the cultivator on garrison-duty, “ We’ve been hurrying for the past couple of days,
so we’ll be resting for the night here. Tonight, you help us get the disguises ready, we plan
to take action tomorrow!”
In the middle of the night, the rustling insects cry…
Early next morning, the sun rose from the east, tainting the clouds with a red hue.
Four ordinary horses were prepared just outside of Changfeng Grand Hall. Among them
one horse was not saddled. Instead, it carried a pile of bundled goods, large and small.
“What is this?”
Miao Yi saw the cultivator on garrison duty take something that looked like a woman’s
makeup powder case and opened it up, before assisting Mo Shengtu and Zhang Shucheng
to apply it between their brows, right on their spiritual points. He couldn’t help but ask
what it was.

“ Soul Concealing Paste,” the cultivator replied nonchalantly.
“Oh,” replied Miao Yi. He heard Yan Xiu mention about this item before, but it was his
first time seeing it.
If one wished to hide one’s cultivation base, all they had to do was apply this paste
between the brows and it would then conceal the glowing lotus blooming from their
spiritual point.
The three of them helped one another apply the paste between their brows. Depending on
the shade of their skin colour, they varied the amount applied to maintain the same colour
as their skin.
After preparations were done, the trio armed their weapons and mounted their horses.
After being accustomed to riding dragon steeds, to suddenly ride a horse that required
steering with the usage of reins felt a bit unnatural.
However, there was no other choice. If they showed up riding the dragon steeds, people
would instantly recognize them as cultivators—drawing the ghost cultivator out after that
would be wishful thinking.
The cultivator took the reins of the horse bundled with goods, passed it to Zhang
Shucheng, then folded his hands in salute to give his farewell.
What he did not know was that during this journey, Zhang Shucheng and Mo Shengtu
were not only intending to take care of the ghost cultivator, but were also targeting Miao
Yi as well. The task personally assigned by Xiong Xiao would be kept in utmost secrecy
by Zhang Shucheng and Mo Shengtu. If this matter was spread around, Xiong Xiao
would never let them off the hook.
The trio rode their horses out from Changfeng Cave and immediately set foot on the main
route. After their horses started rushing headlong on their path, the three of them
exchanged glances with one another, then shook their heads with a bitter laugh.
After being accustomed to riding dragon steeds, not only did it feel awkward to ride these
horses, there was a more significant difference in speed. They felt as slow as snails, and
couldn’t even match up to the speed of the three men using their legs to run, much less
that of a dragon steed. One was entirely heavenly while the other was of the earth.
Unfortunately, it was a prop used for the opera, so it couldn’t be thrown away.
“At this rate, we’ll need at least six hours to make it to to Mount Thousand Buddha.” Mo
Shengtu laughed bitterly.
Zhang Shucheng looked at the weather and said, “No need to hurry, during the daytime the
Yang energy is too potent. Even though the ghost cultivator isn’t like ordinary spirits who
are deathly afraid of sunlight, it still doesn’t like to show up in broad daylight. Arriving at
night is likely to be more appropriate. Let’s take it slow, or else if we continue like this,
the horses won’t be able to endure it.”
Mo Shengtu tilted his head to ask, “ Brother Miao, what do you think?”
“My thoughts?” Miao Yi chuckled, “I think having you two handle the ghost cultivator is
enough. If I go, I’ll only be a burden to you both. Big Brother Mo, Big Brother Zhang, you
guys already know that your little brother’s mount is fat like a pig, and riding a body of fat
feels so comfortable. So, I’m really not used to riding such a lean horse. Not only that, I’m
too honest. I can’t act as a merchant at all. It would be better if the two of you go instead. I
will stay out of this exciting activity and go roaming around Changfeng City. Once the
two of you eliminate the ghost cultivator, you can come find me at Changfeng City. How
does that sound?”
He was seriously not joking around. As he spoke, he had already reined in his mount to a
halt, looking as though he was going to turn back.
“No!”
Mo Shengtu and Zhang Shucheng pretty much shouted in unison to stop him, and also
reined in their mounts to a halt.
But once the words left their mouths, both of them were simultaneously taken aback. They
cast a glance at each other, realizing that it was a little too excessively in sync.
Don’t tell me there is actually something amiss? Miao Yi’s eyes lit up in realization as he
muttered discreetly in his heart.
He’d only been testing them, but who would’ve thought he’d actually find something
fishy. However, he really could not think of any grudge that existed between him and
Xiong Xiao.
Mo Shengtu quickly replied with a sincere and earnest tone, “Brother Miao, this matter
was originally meant to complement your promotion in glory as a Cave Master. The
Manor Head will keep his promise. The main focus is you. If you don’t go, and word
about this gets out in future, others will assume that we cheated. Even if Brother does not
think for himself, you need to help think of us, right? Unlike Brother, we did not find
favour with Manor Head. Once Manor Head reprimands us, we really won’t be able to
take the blame!”
“Haha, if you really can’t, then we’ll leave it at that. Pretend I didn’t say anything.” Miao
Yi chuckled. He shrugged his shoulders, looking indifferent.
Anyway, as far as he was concerned, they could do as they saw fit. Even if they found the
ghost cultivator, he wasn’t planning to take part in the fight. Letting these two guys fight
for their lives was good enough. Once the deed was done, he would just take credit for it
and return to be a Cave Master. If any other mishaps broke out, he’d feel too sorry for
himself.
In any case, he was somewhat vigilant around Xiong Xiao. In other people’s perspective,
Xiong Xiao was helping him, but if they were in his shoes, they’d be able to realize the
truth after giving it some thought.
F*cking Xiong Xiao. Making daddy I, a White Lotus First Grade cultivator handle a
White Lotus Third Grade ghost cultivator. You call this helping your daddy me? F*ck your
grandma!
The three of them continued along the road, without rushing themselves. Throughout the
journey, Mo Shengtu and Zhang Shucheng became more humble, continuously talking
about interesting stories of the cultivation world to please Miao Yi. Mostly, they were
afraid this guy would once again quit halfway if he became upset, turning back to head
towards Changfeng City to roam around.
They even excused Miao Yi from the task of leading along the goods-carrying horse,
which originally they’d planned to take turns doing.
Two White Lotus Third Grade cultivators must appease a White Lotus First Grade
cultivator. This couldn’t be tolerated. Both men had an intense urge to kill this little sh*t
with a strike of their spears.
But alas, Miao Yi wasn’t someone to be trifled with. This guy’s display of bravery and
fierceness during the one versus five battle in Transient Light Cave wasn’t a boast. Even if
they wanted to strike, they didn’t have the confidence to do so. If by chance this brat ran
away, then matters would become very troublesome. They must find an opportune
moment, this plan must end in success and not failure. Otherwise, Xiong Xiao would not
forgive the two of them.
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 46: Mystic Arts Temple (1)

When night fell, the three of them had already passed by Mount Thousand Buddha and
were preparing to turn back to their original route, once again journeying towards the
realm of Mount Thousand Buddha.
They hoped they could draw out the ghost cultivator when the sky darkened.
However, things didn’t go as they wished—the sky changed abruptly.
Dark clouds pushed towards them in the air from a far off distance. A gale swirled, raising
the dust on the ground to fly upwards. The wind shook and swayed the mountain’s forest.
The three of them reined in their steeds in the middle of the main route, stopping to take in
the surrounding wilderness and shifting weather.
Zhang Shucheng frowned and said, “Judging by the weather, it’s going to rain heavily
soon. There’s no village ahead and no inn behind, looks like we’ll be facing some
trouble.”
Mo Shengtu waved the horsewhip, pointing it towards the front. “On the way here, I
remember there’s a fork on the main route up ahead, with a small grassy path that leads to
the mountain. There seemed to be traces of a rut on the road. Under normal circumstances,
carriages don’t normally travel into the mountains, so surely there must be a residence or a
place to rest over there. It would be better to go take a look.”
Zhang Shucheng looked at Miao Yi and smiled, “Brother Miao, what do you think?”
Miao Yi nodded his head, replying, “Sure!”
Together, the three men agreed on Mo Shengtu’s suggestion and immediately galloped
forward on their steeds.
After galloping to the middle of a valley, they slowed down their speed and examined
their surroundings. As expected, they discovered a small, deserted path on the right side of
the main route. Even though it was already buried by weeds, they could still easily
distinguish the traces of ruts.
Seeing that the sky was already filled with dark clouds hanging overhead, the three of
them didn’t hesitate any longer. They changed course, their galloping steeds increasing
speed as they went. They followed the path, continuously galloping onwards.
Not long after, the three of them then spotted a residence with a large courtyard up ahead
among the foothills. It seemed to be a temple…
Moving closer to the foot of the hill, the three men found themselves in a flagstone plaza
which occupied around a dozen mu.
The top of the plaza was completely leveled flat, its outer rim decorated with stone carved
banisters. One could see on both sides, left and right, the indistinct traces of a collapsed
building.
In the center of the plaza was a massive old-fashioned cauldron, full of stains and with
traces of rust. It was a censer.
Although it was filled with desolation, overgrown with weeds that filled the small cracks
in the flagstones beneath their feet, it was evident that this place had once seen a golden
age of incense.
Having suddenly found themselves placed in such a leveled plaza in a barren mountain,
without rhyme or reason the trio were overcome with feelings of insignificance. The
temple built beside the mountain ahead also gave them a sense of oppression.
Dark clouds hung low in the sky, and an abrupt crack of thunder broke out with a
‘BANG’. The mounts beneath the three men fidgeted about, neighing in alarm, but their
movements were eventually subdued by the three of them pulling in their reins.
The muffled rumble of thunder rolled past above their heads, and a few cracks of lightning
flashed in the sky on top of the temple in front. The weather was already very gloomy, yet
the flashes of lightning as well as the rolls of thunder suddenly made the temple’s
appearance even more conspicuous.
On an aged tree within the high walls of the temple, a flock of old ducks were frightened
off by the sudden claps of thunder, quacking as they flew around in circles.
Everything proved that this entire place really was an uninhabited desolated temple.
Zhang Shucheng cast a glance at the two men at his sides and said, “It’ll be pouring rain
soon, so for now we should first take shelter from the rain inside the temple!”
A small brook flowed in between the plaza and the temple built by the mountain, with
three connecting stone arch bridges built side by side. Zhang Shucheng took the lead and
ran towards it while Miao Yi and Mo Shengtu followed suit from behind, pulling along the
goods-carrying horse. The sharp and clear sounds of clattering horse hooves resounded
from the flagstone surface, causing the echos to reverberate indistinctly.
Arriving at the base of the mountain, Zhang Shucheng did not dismount from his steed. He
immediately galloped the horse up the flight of stairs, and the two men behind him
similarly followed suit.
Within the temple surroundings, there grew an ancient pagoda tree, which looked to be
thousands of years old. It was illuminated under the beam of lightning that flashed amidst
the gloomy clouds in the sky, resembling a glaring Vajrapani staring straight at them.
The three of them stood side by side, looking on at the three words ‘Mystic Arts Temple’
hung over the temple’s tall gates. It had become so mottled it was practically difficult to
distinguish its details. As for the courtyard gate, no one had any idea as to where it ended
up. Probably it had long rotted away from being exposed to the sun and blowing wind.
The surrounding courtyard walls had become battered, and perhaps it was due to the
ancient pagoda that blocked all sunlight from shining inside, but the walls were
unexpectedly lacking in things such as vines and weeds.
Zhang Shucheng dismounted from his horse, leading it inside the temple. The two men
behind him also did the same.
The moment they entered the temple, the three once again halted in their tracks. There
were a few ancient pagoda trees inside, their old branches engorged and twisting
grotesquely. Each tree was so ancient and immense in their size, even three people holding
hands together wouldn’t be unable to reach around and hug one. Each side of the temple
had their own pond, roughly about the size of one mu. And towering above each pond was
a stone statue of Arhat. The Arhat statue on the left was missing its head, its location
unknown.
Once they stepped through the courtyard gate, they could sense a cool breeze hit them
right in the face, causing them to feel a little disquieted by the whole situation. Their
horses were also beginning to become anxious and panicky.
Looking at the shabby temple’s entrance that was wide-open for all to enter, Mo Shengtu
drew in a long breath and commented, “The Yin energy here is too strong.”
“These ancient pagoda trees grow along with old residences, which of course made it
easier to amass Yin energy,” Zhang Shucheng replied casually.
Although he said that, the three of them still invoked their arts at their own discretion,
using their transcendence vision to sweep the surroundings.
Under normal circumstances, if there were any forms of spirits and ghosts truly in here,
the ordinary human eye wouldn’t be able to see them. But to the cultivators equipped with
transcendence vision, such beings are unable to remain concealed.
The truth proved that they had been thinking too much. After using their transcendence
vision to sweep the surroundings, they did not discover any evil forces.
Bang! Up in the sky, the crack of thunder once again resounded explosively. Under the
illuminating beam of lightning, the contrast against the shadows added to the eerie and
frightful feeling hanging over the desolate temple.
At the same time, large droplets of rain began to fall, pelting onto the ground with a series
of ‘tap tap tap’ sounds, splashing the surface of both ponds into round ripples.
Zhang Shucheng smiled humbly, saying, “Right now we indeed have no better place to go,
so let’s just put up with this!” He went ahead, leading his steed along into the direction of
the grand hall.
Mo Shengtu and Miao Yi exchanged glances, and were forced to follow behind. The trio
trampled the weeds growing from the small cracks in the floor tiles. A soft, rustling sound
could be heard as they treaded on the dried leaves.
After pulling the horse to the hallway of the grand hall and tying it to a stone pillar
underneath, Zhang Shucheng walked over to the old pagoda tree in the courtyard,
dragging a large dried up branch into the temple. The branch was found lying on the base
of the tree, most likely broken off by the blowing of a gale..
A downpour had already started outside and the sky had completely darkened. A fire
within the grand hall was stoked to a small blaze.
Using the light source from the flames, they could see traces of a previous fire being made
there before, and not just at one spot. Mo Shengtu laughed, “Looks like this really is a
place where passing travellers will stop to rest.”
Miao Yi stood for a long time, carrying the silver spear in his hand. Using the light from
the fire, he directed his gaze at the aloof and remote, magnificent Buddha statue right in
the middle of the temple.
Already, the golden body of the Buddha status had almost completely faded away. And so,
that greatly merciful and compassionate deity, yet to deliver all living beings from
suffering, had reversed to become more sinister in appearance.
Mo Shengtu, who was huddling in front of the open fire, suddenly lightly touched Zhang
Shucheng. Both of them glanced at Miao Yi before mutually exchanging a meaningful
look, then nodding their heads in secret.
It was at this exact moment that the three of them seemed to hear something. They turned
their heads to look outside the gate.
All of a sudden, a series of shouts travelled from outside the temple, “Quick, take shelter
from the rain. Quick, take shelter from the rain…”
They caught sight of a man using both hands to hold a large iron cooking pot over his
head in order to block the incoming rain. On his body, he carried a large bundle of items.
He hurriedly rushed into the temple, and in a single breath, ran into the shrine.
Clanging sounds emitted from the man as he went. He had a complete gamut of all sorts of
things, ranging from pots, bowls, ladles, basics and the like. After entering, he only briefly
assessed the three men, before turning to face outside, shouting loudly, “It’s alright! Come
in!”
The three men followed after to look, only to see a middle-aged scholar running in as well,
carrying a basket on his back. The downpour already made him look like a drowned rat,
with the long robe on his body thoroughly drenched.
Following closely behind were two sturdy laymen, lifting a soft palanquin as they ran in.
On the soft palanquin were poles to support a light pink muslin shroud, through which the
lithe figure of a woman half-reclining could be faintly seen.
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 47: Mystic Arts Temple (2)

After the party entered the grand hall, the confucian scholar beamed benevolently at the
three men and said, “So there are friends who made it first. Do excuse us.”
He turned and shouted while he walked along to a dark corner at the other side of the
grand hall, removing the basket he carried on his back. “Cook, quickly grow a fire for us.”
“Alright!” The man who came in first replied and began to take down the mess of items on
his body. He held onto a butcher knife as he went off to find firewood.
The soft palanquin shrouded by light muslin was also moved to a dark corner on that side.
Although it could be said to be a soft palanquin, in actuality it was a lightweight and
portable chair bed. From the light of the fire, the three of them could see a woman lying
down on her side inside it, looking relaxed and at ease. However, they couldn’t clearly see
her appearance.
Miao Yi and the other men cast a look of dismay at each other. Never would they have
expected to encounter a group of weirdoes at a worn temple within the barren mountain
ranges. They looked like shop traders.
The cook quickly dragged two large pagoda tree branches into the shrine. After chopping
them into pieces in a corner, he rapidly grew the fire.
The middle-aged confucian scholar shouted out again, “Cook, quickly make dinner.”
He took out a few pieces of firewood from the bonfire and started up another fire on the
side. He then removed the long robes he wore on his body, wringing it tightly to remove
the water, before sitting on the side to heat it dry. The other two laymen who’d lifted the
soft palanquin also huddled over, doing the same thing.
The cook, nimbled-handed and fleet-footed, set up the pot, bowls, ladle and basin,
including a chopping board. He again took out the ingredients from the large bag he
carried beforehand, complete with vegetables and meat, before chopping them with a
clatter in the grand hall. Miao Yi and the rest watched on, stunned.
Soon after, they once again saw the cook untie his belt, tying it around a wooden bucket
before running outside to brave the rain. He then fetched a bucket of water from the
temple courtyard’s aging well, before returning back.
A layman went over to assist him, using the basin to catch some water. He poured rice in
and proceeded to wash it. Soon after that, he again felt out a couple of fresh bamboo tubes
from the cook’s large bag, cut an opening in them, then poured the rice along with the
clear water into the tubes. Afterwards, he took the tubes to the side bonfire, roasting them
inside the flames.
Miao Yi and the rest watched on till their teeth hurt. They were unsure as to what else the
cook still kept inside that massively full and bulging bag of his. Why did they feel like it
could hold more things than a storage ring?
After the cook washed the iron pot and racked it over the fire, the sizzling sound of
sesame oil entering the pot resounded. He threw in the dish and stirred the ladle around,
stir-frying the ingredients. Not long after, the fragrant smell of a stir-fried meal spread out
inside the grand hall.
It need not be mentioned that their actions immediately dispersed the temple’s eerie and
frightening atmosphere.
Soon, four dishes, two of meat and two of vegetables were ready, along with a bowl of
soup. Miao Yi and the rest could clearly see with their eyes and could confirm there were
indeed four dishes, two of meat and two of vegetables, along with a bowl of soup.
The dishes may have looked simple, but in this kind of place with this kind of
environment, to be able to come up with a warm and steaming meal, it could only be
described with the word ‘blessed’.
The heavy downpour was still going on outside, along with the quaking sounds of thunder.
Yet the cook inside the grand hall had covered the water bucket, placing the chopping
board on top of it before arranging the four dishes and the soup over it. A simple table was
formed.

The confucian scholar walked over to the front of the chair bed and said, “Lady boss, it’s
time to get up and eat.”
From the inside of the light muslin tent came the sound of an indolent yawn. One could
faintly see the person lying inside was stretching herself before slowly getting up.
The scholar stretched out his hands to unfasten the cloth knot on the muslin tent before
parting it. A pair of yellow embroidered shoes extended out, both embroidered with a
simple cloud pattern on top. Immediately following suit were a pair of exposed calves that
stretched towards the ground. A woman, bright and beautiful, with an amorous
appearance, walked out from inside the muslin tent, causing the entire gloomy grand hall
to suddenly seem brighter.
Jet-black, thick hair was loosely pulled to the back of her head. A lock of the fine black
hair drooped from the side of her ears onto her shoulders. She was without any additional
form of accessories. Her face resembled a lotus, while her brows were like the willow.
There was only a close-fitting corset on her upper body, which was red in color and very
transparent. Her stiffly bound bosom could be distinctly seen, and her soft, smooth
exposed shoulders were draped with a light green-colored muslin robe.
The corset was very short. Below the ribs, the soft waistline had nothing covering it
whatsoever, tempting people to touch what was barely hidden. On her abdomen, the hint
of a curved, smooth belly button was intermittently visible from the green colored muslin
robe, making it difficult for people to tear away their gazes.
Her rather perky derriere was wrapped in a green-colored folded muslin skirt, the fringe of
the skirt corners were unevenly matched. Hanging from them was a stream of small
golden beads that gleamed under the fire’s light. That little bit of weight dragging the side
of the skirt further accentuated the perkiness of her backside with each step she took. As
she walked, the outline of her thighs was also discernible from the skirt.
The green-colored folded muslin skirt stopped at her smooth and full lustrous small
calves. The skirt seemed to be half-transparent yet when facing the light from the fire, the
luscious view from within was barely visible. With the addition of reverie amidst the
haziness, it was inevitably a little regretful.
The shapely figure was one exceedingly worthy of pride. With an S-shaped curve-line,
without flab on the areas that should be thin, ample flesh on the areas that should be well-
rounded, her overall appearance caused people’s heart to palpitate unceasingly. Her skin
was smooth and exquisite, yet wheat colored. Her brazenly-revealing clothes were painted
in strongly distinctive colors. Her charming appearance seemed woven with a bold and
unrestrained wildness, richly graced with the feeling of a foreign country.
Within Miao Yi’s heart, there was already a woman he deemed beautiful over all others,
that red-clothed woman with her ethereal lightness he’d seen on top of the city walls of the
Ancient City. But now, if he were to compare her with this amorous-looking woman
before his eyes, then the woman from before seemed too cold in appearance.
For this creature called women, they were thirty percent appearance, seventy percent
temperament—the differences in beauty was based on their different temperaments.
Miao Yi and the rest were already dumbfounded just from staring at her, feeling that this
woman was too eye-catching.
The two laymen who lifted the palanquin removed the bamboo tubes from the bonfire and
hacked them into halves, abruptly causing the sweet scent of cooked rice to permeate the
whole place. They then quickly grabbed some bowls to hold the servings.
But that confucian scholar took the basket he carried on his back and placed it on the
simplistic, small table in an inverted manner. He even draped a cloth on top, pointing to it
as he smiled at the woman. “We’re limited by the current circumstances, Lady Boss, so
just put up with it.”
The woman lightly swept her delicate, sultry eyes, nodding her head. She moved towards
the bamboo tube and was about to sit down, before her clear pupils caught sight of Miao
Yi’s group. She smiled slightly, and generously extended her hand in invitation as she
beckoned, “If the three of you don’t mind, you might as well come and join our meal.”
In unison. the group of people also looked towards their direction.
Miao Yi and the rest exchanged looks with each other. The invitation appeared to be a bit
alluring.
Mo Shengtu had already subconsciously licked his lips. He wasn’t thinking of eating
dinner per say. Instead, he wanted to eat the woman extending her invitation.
Although it wasn’t allowed for cultivators to act recklessly towards followers, but inside
the realm of Changfeng Cave, playing with one or two women on their own territory
would not cause much of a fuss.
He was about to move closer to get intimate with her but he then heard Zhang Shucheng’s
voice transmitting directly in his ears. “Old Mo, don’t forget the mission. After this is
done, you can do whatever you want with that woman. Now is a good time to borrow their
pot and use the Drunken Immortal!”
He was reminding Mo Shengtu to borrow the other’s cookware to get hold of it himself,
then conveniently slip the drug in to poison Miao Yi.
But who knew Miao Yi wouldn’t give them this opportunity to do so. He cheerfully and
laughingly stood up, walking over with his hands cupped before their astonished eyes.
“Okay. If you insist.”
The two laymen, the cook, the confucian scholar, and even the woman appeared to be
somewhat startled as they looked on at the approaching Miao Yi.
Actually, the woman had only given the invitation casually. By right, in this barren
mountain and field where they did not know one another, the other party would definitely
be at an disadvantage to rashly eat their food. This was a form of common sense whenever
people are away from home. It was only because she was accustomed to being a lady boss,
so the cordial habit of entertaining guests made her act in that manner, but who could have
known this slip-up would cause the unexpected to happen?
However, Miao Yi was not an old traveller. Thus, his knowledge and experience was
limited. At this point he had not been corrupted yet, so he still held the commoner’s rustic
side. Such a fragrant meal, and being invited by such a beautiful woman, why act coy
about it?
This is what was known as having no worldly experience. Those who normally left home
to travel would not behave this way.
Miao Yi walked towards them, suddenly stopping midway in puzzlement. Why did it feel
like the way they were eying him didn’t seem right, no matter how he looked at it?
He immediately read and understood the meaning they conveyed. Realization suddenly
dawned on him that they were just being modest and he had actually believed their
courteous words. Then, he awkwardly scratched his head, saying, “My appetite is massive.
Your food doesn’t seem to be enough, so I won’t bother.”
He turned and went off, inwardly thinking how embarrassing that was.
Zhang Shucheng and Mo Shengtu looked at the awkwardly returning Miao Yi. They
turned away, trying to control their faces which were already a deep shade of red. In any
case, they knew he had brought shame to himself, and they could barely contain their
laughter.
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 48: Mystic Arts Temple (3)

“Little Brother, please don’t be mistaken!”

The women was taken aback, her entire demeanor giving off a feeling of wildness as she
quickly let out a light laugh. She raised her hand in the direction of the confucian scholar
by her side.
Immediately the confucian scholar chuckled as he ran over to him. He heartily pulled
Miao Yi’s arm, politely inviting him back.
One of the laymen moved the cook’s large bag and laid it flat beside him, reaching out his
hand to Miao Yi as he signalled him to sit.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Miao Yi waved his hand and said, “I’ll just squat.”
The confucian scholar half forcingly pressed him down to sit.
Miao Yi reluctantly consented and sat down, facing the group as he smiled awkwardly,
“Excuse me.”
“It’s alright. You’re the guest.” The woman generously waved her hands, taking the seat in
front of Miao Yi.
When her hands shook the skirt, a flash of her flesh-colored thigh could be seen from
within the clothes’ folds. She again, crossed one leg over the other, blocking the view, her
actions full of uninhibitedness. “Your name is?”
“Miao Yi.” After he announced his name, Miao asked in reply, “I heard them calling you
Lady Boss. May I ask for Lady Boss’s name?”
“I deal in a small business, so my name is out of the question. Calling me Lady Boss will
do.”
The woman avoided the question. She looked at her underlings at both sides and said,
“What are you all waiting for? Serve!”
They responded. One of the porter served a bowl of rice to Miao Yi, saying, “Enjoy the
meal.”
He sounded like a true waiter and didn’t seem to be feigning it.
The confucian scholar also served a bowl of rice to the woman. The latter crossed her
extremely sexy legs, and proceeded to twirl the chopsticks through the rice. She then
pointed at the piping hot four dishes and a bowl of soup before saying, “Brother Miao.
Don’t be shy.”
On top of the simplistic dining table was a plate of green vegetables, a plate of bean
sprouts, a plate of simmer-fried muntjac meat, a plate of steamed fish, and lastly a large
bowl of mushroom soup.
Lady Boss, seeing that Miao Yi still looked a bit embarrassed, couldn’t help but curl her
lips into a smile as she realized that this youngster was kind of interesting.
She reached out her chopsticks and removed a tender piece of meat from the belly of the
fish, placing it personally onto Miao Yi’s rice bowl, said “Please.” and then started to eat.
The two porters crouched on the right side while the cook and the confucian scholar
crouched on the left. They also began to eat, with great enjoyment. None of them
concerned themselves with Zhang Shucheng and Mo Shengtu.
Miao Yi turned around, casting his gaze at the both of them. Seeing that the duo did not
look like they had any intentions to come over, he also paid no mind to them, and raised
his bowl to eat.
Miao Yi had already been embarrassed once, so naturally, Mo Shengtu and Zhang
Shucheng wouldn’t go over to be embarrassed themselves. Thus, they sat by the fire in
silence.
“Try this. The cook’s skill is pretty good. Customers from the store praise him to high
heaven after trying out his dishes.”
The Lady Boss would frequently offer more, enthusiastically helping Miao Yi to the food.
Miao Yi promptly thanked her. “Lady Boss, there’s no need to be so courteous. I’ll help
myself. I’ll help myself.”
They sat around that simple dining table and ate with great enjoyment. After Miao Yi
sampled the dishes, his eyes brightened, coming to the realization that they were indeed
very tasty. He proceeded to rave about the cook’s skill, who appeared gratified to receive
his praise. He cast a silly smile at Miao Yi.
Since he’d already eaten, Miao Yi let go of his reserve. And to top it all off, the taste was
pretty good, so he quickly devoured his meal ravenously.
The cook immediately snatched away his bowl, and gave him another serving. Miao Yi
thanked him before continuing—he really was eating without restraint.
In fact, the Lady Boss was secretly observing Miao Yi’s expression. She saw his face had
a look of honesty to it that did not seem to be feigned, and he also didn’t seem like he
wanted to be intimate with her, unlike other men. A hint of admiration flashed through her
clear pupils.
Unintentionally, Miao Yi noticed that she was observing him. He swallowed the food in
his mouth, smiling. “Lady Boss, you’re quite unlike the common folk, seeing as you all
dared to stop at this desolate temple in the mountain! May I know what it is that you do?”
He began to inquire about their origins.
Lady Boss heartily let out a gentle laugh. “I’m only a mere innkeeper. The sky gave signs
of a heavy downpour coming soon. Coincidently, we knew there was a place for us to rest.
If we weren’t here. wouldn’t I have to wait outside in the rain instead? I see the three of
you are armed with weapons, you’re the ones who don’t look ordinary at all! I suppose if
you’re not a jianghu errant hero, then you should be one of the government officials,
right?”
“An escort from an escort house,” Miao Yi answered curtly.
The Lady Boss chuckled. “Then, that’s a relief. We were afraid that we wouldn’t be safe in
the barren mountain ranges, so we feel more at ease at having your party protect us as
armed escorts.”
The storm went on incessantly outside the grand hall, as lightning flashed and cracks of
thunder rolled by.
Miao Yi ate and drank to his heart’s content, and after thanking the Lady Boss and her
group, he returned to the other side.
The cook tidied up the bowls, chopsticks and cookware before carrying them outside,
keeping them under the roof. He then braved the rain to fetch water, and proceeded to
clean the dishes outside.
Meanwhile, the confucian scholar took out a brush and some ink from his basket,
scribbling in an account book by the fire. From time to time, he would make a report about
something to the Lady Boss sitting beside him, and she would listen in a serious manner.
The two porters were wiping the floors clean, looking as though they were planning to use
it to spend the night.
After the cook returned from washing the dishes, Zhang Shucheng suddenly grinned.
“Brother Miao, don’t you think it’s boring just sitting around here? Why don’t we borrow
their cookware to brew a cup of hot tea?”
“Might as well.” Mo Shengtu indulged him and stood up, walking towards the other side.
Zhang Shucheng’s expression darkened as he shot a glance at Mo Shengtu, realizing that
his ailment of being lecherous could not be changed.
He saw Mo Shengtu squat beside the lovely Lady Boss, who was listening to the
confucian scholar reporting their accounts, his gaze wandering over her beautiful figure
without the slightest scruple.
Evidently, he wasn’t satisfied with just using his eyes, and actually went as far as to reach
out and grasp the Lady Boss’s jade hand on her thigh.
Instantly, everyone’s eyes were locked onto him. The Lady Boss’s gaze lowered slightly,
eventually dropping onto his hand.
Mo Shengtu ignored the strange look the confucian scholar and the rest were giving him.
He stared at the Lady Boss as he laughed in glee. “Lady Boss, I would like to borrow
something from you.”
The Lady Boss withdrew her hand in a single swipe, frowning. “May I know what the
armed escort would like to borrow?”
Who would have expected Mo Shengtu, whose hand was suspended in midair, would
again try to grope Lady Boss’s thigh, which was only covered with a thin layer of muslin
skirt.
Lady Boss’s reaction was quick, as though she was very experienced in dealing with skirt-
chasers. She lifted his hand off her thigh, before quickly standing up to evade his touch.
She moved to the side, giving him a sidelong glance. “Armed escort, please treat me with
respect!”
Mo Shengtu immediately stood up, his gaze revealing a covetous look as he stared at her
elegant figure. Again, he slowly moved closer to her, reaching his hands out with the
desire to embrace her. “I only wanted to borrow your cookware for a while, there’s no
need for Lady Boss to be so petty!”
“You better keep your paws away from her!”
Miao Yi’s voice suddenly sounded, his tone slightly cold.
The group turned their heads and looked, only to see Miao Yi dragging a spear in his hand.
The tip of the spear scraped the ground as he approached them, his face expressionless as
he came to a stop beside Mo Shengtu.
Zhang Shucheng also stood up, his brows creasing.
Lady Boss tilted her head to look at Miao Yi, her eyes flashing with a hint of amusement.
Mo Shengtu turned around, his expression had become slightly sour. He spoke in a deep
voice, “Brother Miao, what is the meaning of this?”
Miao Yi was not courteous. “Nothing. I just can’t stand how you keep pawing at her, your
behavior is obscene.”
Immediately, Mo Shengtu was furious. “I thought we were in this together?”
“Sorry, I just ate their meal and I want to repay them back!” Miao Yi responded
indifferently.
Letting out a cold laugh, Mo Shengtu repeated again and again, “I will definitely sleep
with this woman tonight. I’d like to see what can you can do to me!”
After he finished, his hand immediately reached towards the Lady Boss.
Swish! With a swift shake, Miao Yi swung his spear, the spear tip emitting a stream of fire
sparks from the ground as he pointed it at Mo Shengtu. “You try it and see!”
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 49: Mystic Arts Temple (4)

Seeing the situation was about to get out of hand, Zhang Shucheng abruptly shouted,
“Stop!”
Speedily making his way to the center of the two in order to smooth things over, he
quickly pushed Mo Shengtu away from the Lady Boss. At the same time, he reached out
to press down the speartip in Miao Yi’s hand. “We’re all on the same side, don’t let
something trivial jeopardize our mission.”
Turning back to the Lady Boss, he jovially said, “Lady Boss please calm yourself. We
mean no harm. We just wish to borrow your cookware so that we may brew some tea.”
Lady Boss said indifferently, “Armed escort, you need not trouble yourself to personally
do it. Cook, quickly go make some hot tea for them.”
“Aye!” the cook responded, when suddenly Zhang Shucheng reached out his hand to stop
him, “Just now my brother has erred, and we have yet to make amends, it would be
imprudent for us to trouble you,” he spoke, as he gave Mo Shengtu a shove, “Hurry and
fetch some water.”
Mo Shengtu held back the gloom on his face, and with a cold glint in his eyes, he
grudgingly picked up the bucket from the ground, then strode out the temple into the
storm.
Zhang Shucheng then grabbed a pot, subsequently grabbing Miao Yi with him as he went
back, and then placed the pot on top of the fire.
Lady Boss had noticed the suspicious look in Mo Shengtu’s eyes, and being someone used
to the ways of the world, she didn’t appear to be bothered by what just happened. She
gave that enchanting waist of hers a stretch, and cheerfully told her subordinates,
“Everyone quickly pack up and get some rest! We must make our way with haste
tomorrow morning.”
While she said this, she made a quick glance to the cook and her eyebrows twitched for a
bit. The cook then winked in understanding.
The few of them obeyed, and immediately started to pack up, whereas the cook took off
the soaked clothes he was wearing from when he went out to wash the bowls, and made
his way to the back of the hall to dry it.
Lady Boss gave her soft waist another stretch and laid down on the chair bed, the view
was so seductive, that even Zhang Shucheng could not keep himself from staring, yet
sadly the confucian scholar immediately tied the pink muslin tent back up, shrouding that
enticing figure, but also made it all the more suggestive.
Outside the temple under the pouring rain, at the side of the decrepit well between two
ancient pagoda trees, Mo Shengtu filled up the bucket with water. After careful eyeing his
surroundings, he hastily took out a small porcelain bottle from his sleeve and opened it,
then poured a white powdery substance into the bucket. After tucking back the bottle, he
popped a red pill into his mouth, then hurriedly carried the bucket of water back inside.
And on the roof of the temple, the cook, unknown from when he had braved the rain to
stand there, had been watching Mo Shengtu’s actions all along, and swiftly departed
thereafter.
Coming back inside the temple, Mo Shengtu poured the water he collected into the metal
pot. The bottom of the metal pot was starting to redden under the heat, and the cold water
made popping sounds as it was poured in.
The cook had also returned inside. As he picked up the bowls off the ground, he pinched
some of the nearby smoldering ash. With his back facing Miao Yi and the rest, he turned
and made his way to the chair bed and then mimicked Mo Shengtu’s previous actions
outside, sprinkling the ashes in his hand into the bowl.
The rest of them inadvertently glanced towards the chair bed, and Lady Boss, who was
inside the muslin tent, simply twisted her body with nonchalance, seemingly giving a
casual wave.
The others understood what she meant, and continued cleaning up.
Outside the temple, under the beating of the wind and rain, the old pagoda trees in the
courtyard howled incessantly.
It was silent inside the temple, as the giant Buddha statue seated on top of its lotus
platform shone and darkened with the flickering light of the flame. To the side, the worn-
down Arhats and Buddha, both big and small, formed all sorts of peculiar beings, their
shapes creating shadows on the wall that were sometimes long and sometimes short,
sometimes thin and sometimes robust; much like a constant illusion of demons, devils,
ghosts and monsters shifting uninterrupted.
The boiling sound of water echoed from the metal pot atop the fireplace, Mo Shengtu took
out a can from his luggage, opened it and took out a few tea leaves, then spread it into the
iron pot.
Zhang Shucheng also took this opportunity to stealthily place a red pill into his mouth.
Not long after, the fragrant smell of tea wafted from the metal pot. Zhang Shucheng put
out the fire underneath, leaving just a small flame to keep the pot warm, and scooped up
three bowls of hot tea.
Just at this moment, both the cook and the confucian scholar came over, each with a bowl
in their hands, the confucian scholar bowed and asked with a smile, “May we have a cup
of hot tea?”
Zhang Shucheng and Mo Shengtu looked at each other, the former chuckled as he reached
out for the teapot, “No need to stand on ceremony, help yourselves!”
“Thank you!” the two said in response.
The cook was coincidentally standing in front of Miao Yi as he poured himself some tea.
Miao Yi glanced at his back in shock—on the back of the cook’s still wet clothes, was a
message written with charcoal. There were only five words: “There’s something inside the
tea!”
Miao Yi furrowed his brows, and glanced at the tea pot on top of the fireplace. He took up
his silver spear at the side, and lifted up the hem of his clothes to brush the tip of the spear,
seemingly with great force.
After filling their bowls, the cook and the confucian scholar gave thanks for the tea, then
turned around and made their way back. The confucian scholar just so happened to block
the back of the cook from being seen.
As though the tea in their hands was scorching hot, the two hurriedly ran back, and when
they had just reached the side of their own fireplace, the two accidentally bumped into
each other.
Pala! The two porcelain bowls filled with hot tea slipped from their hands and shattered on
the ground.
The two whose hands slipped looked at each other—Miao Yi also threw a short glance as
he continued brushing the tip of his spear.
To the side Zhang Shucheng just smiled and said, “There is still half a pot’s worth of tea.
The three of us won’t be able to finish it, so if you wish to drink, just come and take it. No
need to be polite.”
After which, he placed two bowls filled with tea into Mo Shengtu’s hands, and then gave
him a light push, “You were in the wrong just now, hurry and apologize to Brother Miao.”
Mo Shengtu, understanding what he was implying. He took the tea into his hands, walked
towards Miao Yi, and made an expression full of sincerity as he said, “Brother Miao, my
infatuation got the better of me just now and I hope you will forgive me for my
misconduct. After drinking this bowl of tea, what say we forget about this!”
Miao Yi was still brushing his spear, but then clutched the weapon and stood up, looking
at him silently.
“It was my fault just now,” Mo Shengtu said sincerely, the bowl in his hand presented to
Miao Yi once more, prompting him to accept. It really did seem as though he was sincere
about apologizing.
Miao Yi did not accept—looking at Zhang Shucheng, he asked, “I was also in the wrong
just now. Brother Mo is being too kind, how will I be able to accept it?”
With a cup in hand, Zhang Shucheng immediately came over to act as the middleman,
saying, “Regardless of who was wrong and who was right, when all of us drink this tea, all
will be water under the bridge!”
“In that case, then it seems I will just have to accept!” Miao Yi reached out and took the
tea from Mo Shengtu, held up the bowl towards the two of them, and said, “Cheers!”
“Cheers!” the two smiled as they nodded.
Knocking their bowls together, the three of them grinned at one another, then placed their
bowls at the side of their lips, lifted their heads and drank.
To the side, the confucian scholar and the cook looked at each other in confusion—could
it be that he failed to see the message just now?
Who would have thought that a sudden change would happen the next instant; the
confucian scholar and the cook immediately widened their eyes!
Pu!
Taking advantage of the moment when Mo Shengtu and Zhang Shucheng had their tea
bowls blocking their faces, the spear in Miao Yi’s hand shone with a silver gleam, and had
stabbed into Mo Shengtu’s chest with a swift and silent strike.
Without even giving time for Mo Shengtu to scream, the blood-stained spearhead on his
back was being ruthlessly swept towards Zhang Shucheng who was at the side.
Realizing something was off, Zhang Shucheng made a quick dodge, but was still moments
too late.
An arm instantly flew out, the blood-stained spearhead hacked its way under his armpit.
Fortunately he was the second one to be attacked, which gave him some time to respond,
otherwise his heart might have already been cut out.
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 50: Mystic Arts Temple (5)

“Ah…”
At this moment, Mo Shengtu let out a blood-curdling scream, his hand still gripping onto
the cup. It was clear that Miao Yi’s amazing ambush had been so quick, he had been
caught off-guard when he struck out with his spear.
Below the severed arm, blood streamed out from Zhang Shucheng’s torso as he urgently
dodged the blow. Simultaneously, he opened up his hand, summoning his spear back into
his grasp.
Bang!
With a malevolent expression on his face, Miao Yi kicked the screaming Mo Shengtu,
sending him flying. At the same time, he swept his spear horizontally, directly lopping Mo
Shengtu’s head off, causing blood to immediately splash out in the air.
With his body and head in two different places, Mo Shengtu collapsed onto the ground, no
longer capable of screaming.
The Lady Boss, who was lying on top of the chair bed, rose up and watched the
commotion from inside her tent. Regardless of the laymen or the confucian scholar or
even the cook, none of them had expected Miao Yi to suddenly explode without a heads
up, which had given them the impression that he had not seen their earlier warning.
Only now did they realize that this young man, who seemed so plain-looking, also had a
considerably brutal side to him. Neither was he lacking in shrewdness as well. When he
made a move, it would be fatal. Otherwise, it wouldn’t. He was considerably decisive!
One could ask what kind of person was Lao Bai, and why would he select a goody two-
shoes to teach his art to? Of course, Lao Bai chose Miao Yi after he had done a lot of
investigation. If Miao Yi didn’t have the slightest capability to adapt and survive, then Lao
Bai would have been wasting his time and effort by selecting a person to come out and
send him to the grave.
Zhang Shucheng was pale, he’d already used his transcendence energy to seal the severed
arm along with the wound under his armpit that had penetrated deep below the bottom of
his heart. With a single arm, he captured his spear and pointed it at Miao Yi as he roared in
raging fury, “You little scum! You dare to ambush us!”
“If I hadn’t ambushed you, then I wouldn’t have been your match!” Miao Yi spoke openly,
in a forthright manner. Akin to a death god, he pointed his spear at Zhang Shucheng. “Two
White Lotus Third Grade cultivators, going as far as using poison on a White Lotus First
Grade cultivator like me behind my back. The thought of killing you two makes me laugh!
Speak! Whose orders are you following?”
The Lady Boss and the rest looked at each other. No wonder this kid used an ambush
tactic. It turned out he was only a White Lotus First Grade cultivator, but he really had the
nerve to do so. A mere White Lotus First Grade cultivator actually dared to mount a sneak
attack on two White Lotus Third Grade cultivators. He had more guts than the average
person!
Zhang Shucheng looked at his own severed arm—he’d unexpectedly lost an arm?
Abruptly lifting his head, he vigorously bellowed in rage, “DIE!”
In a sudden movement, a spear was piercing its way towards Miao Yi,
Jaws dropping from surprise, Lady Boss and the rest saw that the kid with a White Lotus
First Grade cultivation base, did not try to dodge or avoid the attack. He directly faced the
White Lotus Third Grade cultivator and launched his counterattack!
Zhang Shucheng reached him in a flash, but Miao Yi was not in the least scared. His leg
stepped out, becoming one with his spear as he leapt.
He rose high up in the air of the grand hall, and ferociously struck out with a spear attack.
Practically all his transcendence energy was focused onto the strike of the speartip, similar
to his cultivation on the island in the sea. Even if you were a large stone mountain, I would
still destroy you.
That grandeur, that all-encompassing force as he courageously advanced forward, even the
Lady Boss and her subordinates felt alarmed. He dared to act this way when facing two
enemies who surpassed himself by two levels—what kind of sect and master would train
their disciple into one with such a temperament?
Boom!
A loud sound shocked the grand hall, the transcendence energy shaking their
surroundings.
Under the brutal swirls of surging transcendence energy, the few stone statues which were
on the verge of collapsing, finally gave way with a loud bang. The fireplace beneath was
instantly stifled, having been pressed down and extinguished into burning coals, sparks
flying everywhere.
The bonfire near the Lady Boss had also been nearly extinguished, causing sparks to fly in
all directions. Yet, somehow none of the fire sparks could touch the the pink muslin tent of
the Lady Boss’s chair bed.
Outside the hall, the terrified horses whinnied.
This head-on strike separated them, as they recoiled upon impact.
The place where Zhang Shucheng’s arm was severed along with the deep gash in his
armpit, violently exploded into two clouds of red mist. He dropped onto the ground and
staggered, falling back a few steps as he used his single arm to hold onto the spear in order
to steady himself.
Meanwhile, the attack had momentarily jolted Miao Yi, till he was thrown flying
backwards.
Boom! He crashed right through the stone wall behind him, his figure disappearing deep
inside the hole created.
A clattering sound emitted from the back of the broken wall, and immediately a loud bang
followed, causing more than half of the inner grand hall to collapse. Among the smoke
and dust, as well as the upheaval of tumbling rocks, a speartip slowly extended out from
the back of the broken wall. Miao Yi gradually walked out, holding the straightened spear
in his hand.
The disheveled Miao Yi stood steadily amidst the messy pile of rocks. He lifted his hand
to wipe away the blood that flowed out from his nose and mouth, once again directing his
spear at Zhang Shucheng. “So what if you have a cultivation base at White Lotus Third
Grade? With a missing arm and half your chest sliced open, I don’t believe I won’t be able
to get rid of you!”
Zhang Shucheng would never have expected that Miao Yi wouldn’t be afraid to face him
straight on. Although his attack had wounded Miao Yi, he wasn’t exactly in good shape
either.
He was already without an arm, and using one hand had greatly reduced the strength
behind his spear. On top of that, he had to consume a lot of transcendence energy to seal
the grave injury of both wounds, as well as to stabilize his heart which had been inflicted
serious damage in his chest.
Miao Yi saw his chance, and so he focused all his energy into this one strike. In the end,
he’d been battered till half the blood in his body came exploding out of his wounds.
Zhang Shucheng’s body was on the verge of collapsing, his complexion growing more
pale by the minute. His wounds weren’t the only places bleeding out, he also suffered
from internal bleeding within his chest.
Lady Boss and her group were astonished. They never would have thought that Miao Yi,
under the suppression of a White Lotus Third Grade cultivator’s transcendence energy,
still had the capability to lash out such a swift and fierce counterattack, delivering blows
to Zhang Shucheng until he’d been reduced to his current state.
Zhang Shucheng was so full of regret, his intestines had turned green. He finally
understood why this kid could not be defeated even in a fight against five cultivators. The
transcendence energy he exerted to suppress Miao Yi appeared to have no effect
whatsoever. Miao Yi’s transcendence energy shield had an unclear and unknown method
of defensive power. As a result, he vigorously met him head-on, even when seriously
injured.
“Who gave the order?” Miao Yi directed his spear at him. “Say it and I will spare your
pathetic life!”
Lady Boss and the rest were speechless. A White Lotus First Grade cultivator was actually
threatening a White Lotus Third Grade cultivator.
Suddenly, Zhang Shucheng brandished his spear in one sweep and with a rumbling sound,
a few large flagstones on the ground went flying, smashing in the direction of Miao Yi. In
one swift movement, he fled.
He didn’t believe that by confessing all, Miao Yi would forgive him. He was going to die
either way, so why not just stake his entire life on it?
With a strike of his spear, Miao Yi deflected the flying flagstones. He didn’t give chase to
Zhang Shucheng who was fleeing in the direction of the main gate. To save time, he
headbutted his way through the walls of the temple. Amidst the swirling rubble in the air,
with his blurred vision a spear attack came slantingly piercing out. The movement was
akin to when he was blindfolded under the rapid flowing currents of the waterfall, striking
with equal precision each stone flowing with the torrents.
Zhang Shucheng was terror-stricken—he had just flown past the main gate. He had tossed
away the broken stone walls with his spear, intending to continue his escape, when
suddenly he realized he was no longer able to move.
He slowly lowered his head to look, only to find a spear had penetrated through his waist
from the side, completely piercing through his own transcendence energy defense. His
transcendence energy no longer had the strength to fortify him anymore.
Clang!
The spear in Zhang Shucheng’s grasp fell to the ground powerlessly. He wanted to reach
out his hand to cover the blood flowing profusely out of his wound, but was unable to do
so. There were a number of wounds on his body so how could he cover them all with just
one hand? His eyes were filled with terror.
The rumbling sounds of thunder, wind and rain accompanied each other outside the grand
hall, Drizzling water came in through the roof, constantly being blown inside with the
wind.
Under the flashes of lightning, both of them, to the left and right, their hair plastered flat
from the rain. Under the lightning, it was even more clearly seen.
The aloof and remote Buddha statue inside the grand hall, silently watched the two men,
one at the main gate and the other by the gap in the broken wall…
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 51: Mystic Arts Temple (6)

“Spare me!” Zhang Shucheng was facing the storm outside, his face full of terror. He
slowly turned his head to look at Miao Yi.
“Speak! Who gave you the order??” Miao Yi asked in a cold tone, his hand holding the
spear penetrating the other man.
Even an ant desires to live, and in this situation Zhang Shucheng would naturally reach for
the faintest trace of hope. He anxiously replied, as his breath became more hurried, “It was
Xiong Xiao, I was ordered by Mountain Chieftain Xiong Xiao.”
“I’ve long since suspected it was him, but we barely interacted the few times I met him.
We hardly ever talked, and shouldn’t bear any resentment towards each other. Why is he
targeting me?”
“I don’t know, I really don’t know…. Miao Yi, spare me, please spare me!”
“Coming this far, you still hide the truth?”
“I really don’t know, he didn’t tell me, I wish to know why he’s targeting you, too. Spare
me, I beg you….”
Pu! Abruptly, Miao Yi retracted his spear, and sent Zhang Shucheng flying with a kick. At
the same time, the silver spear in his hand flew out with momentum, impaling Zhang
Shucheng’s head and nailing him to a stone pillar under the temple’s eaves.
Miao Yi walked towards the stone pillar, reached out and grabbed the end of the spear, and
simply said, “Your wounds are too dire to be saved, so I might as well just give you a
swift end!”
The people inside the temple looked at one another.
With a wave of his hand, Miao Yi pulled the spear out. Zhang Shucheng’s corpse slowly
slid down and slumped to the ground. Half his body still hung under the stone path, the
blood under the eaves flowing away along with the running water.
The spear was slowly extended out of the eaves, allowing the trickling rainwater to wash
away the blood staining it. As lightning flashed, the silver spear gleamed coldly.
Miao Yi looked at the spear being cleansed by the rainwater, his face expressionless. He
was contemplating the source of the problem. He really couldn’t understand why Xiong
Xiao wanted him dead. Meeting someone with such a position and cultivation, and then to
be targeted by him—how should he proceed from now on?
It was late at night, and the booming sounds of rolling thunder in the night sky began to
slowly subside until all was utterly silent. Even the noise from the torrential pouring rain
began to quiet down. In the hall, the billowing flame started to stabilize, eventually being
left with only the sound of water dripping from the eaves outside.
The dark clouds in the night sky slowly dispersed, and the sound of bugs started to echo
from the surroundings. From the back of the dark clouds, the moon had revealed its timid
face. It shone on Miao Yi’s face, and his previously motionless self moved slightly.
The rain stopped? Under the eaves, Miao Yi snapped out of his contemplation. He
retracted his spear and lifted his head to look at the bright, flawless moon in the night sky.
Suddenly, a cold piercing aura slowly emanated from the courtyard, and the bug cries that
resounded moments ago abruptly came to a halt. The horses tied at the corridor were
nervously moving about, as if they were afraid.
Having noticed something was off, Miao Yi hastily focused his transcendence energy to
his eyes. Surveying the surroundings with his transcendence vision, he instantly saw an
obscure black fog swaying in the middle of the courtyard.
Ghost aura!
Miao Yi was startled. Thinking back on what was lurking around these parts, he cursed
inwardly, while thinking, he couldn’t be this unlucky, could he? Having just killed off the
two “accomplices”, the thing decides to show up now?
He wanted to run away at that moment, but realizing there were still people inside, he
hastily dashed back. “The rain has stopped, you all should quickly leave this place!”
Unexpectedly, he was left speechless when he saw that group of people, including the
Lady Boss, were looking at him in trepidation. They bunched together, trembling in fear
and cautiously said, “Great Immortal, please don’t kill us.”
“Why would I kill you all for no reason? I still haven’t thanked you for tipping me off.”
Miao Yi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but now was not the time for idle chatter. He
immediately shouted, “There might be something foul around here, you all should leave
quickly.”
Like a poor defenseless girl, the Lady Boss pinched her skirt anxiously, and meekly asked,
“What sort of foul thing?”
Miao Yi stared at her and said, “Ghosts!”
The group was apparently shocked. The Lady Boss’s reaction was even more exaggerated;
with both her hands covering her mouth, as though she was a helpless and terrified girl,
she pleaded, “Is what Great Immortal said true? But this is the wilderness, and after such a
heavy downpour, the mountain paths are sure to be muddy. That will make it even more
difficult to find our way in this darkness!”
Miao Yi felt a sense of resignation towards her. At this point in time, she was scared
witless, yet she could still afford to be troubled over walking in the rain and dark.
He couldn’t be bothered to deal with her, so he grabbed her hand and pulled her outside,
“Leave everything unnecessary behind, only carry your important belongings with you.
There are six of us including myself, and there are four horses. You can forget about the
one carrying the luggage, and as for the remaining three, we will ride each one in pairs.
Before all else, we must leave this place immediately.”
“Great Immortal is right, but…..” The Lady Boss knitted her brows, and said in hesitation,
“But I am already promised to someone, I can’t be so close to another man, let alone share
a horse together. If word of this got out, how will I face the public?”
Miao Yi was speechless, and couldn’t help scrutinizing her. Reflecting on how enticing
her attire was, she should be braver than even a cavewoman, yet she still had the gall to
say she was promised to someone—it was hard to imagine where on earth her husband
could go to cry.
Obviously, these were thoughts he kept to himself. Dragging her outside, he straight up
placed one of the reins in her hands, and exclaimed, “You ride one on your own, my leg
power is quite strong, so I won’t be any slower than you all. Let’s go!’
“But I don’t know how to ride a horse, what if I fall down?” the Lady Boss said meekly,
her subordinates had all come outside as well.
Now that the gloomy clouds had already completely dispersed from the night sky, the
bright moon was shining upon the vast land.
Miao Yi was once again rendered speechless, he could already feel the Yin energy within
the whole temple slowly becoming heavier under the light of the moon. He helplessly
shook his head and said, “Then pick someone that you fancy to ride with you! Our first
priority is to leave this place, don’t think too deeply about anything else.”
The Lady Boss reluctantly replied with an “Oh”, cast a glance at him and said, “Then it’s
best if I ride with Great Immortal! I am timid, and I will feel safe if Great Immortal is with
me.”
When he heard this, Miao Yi who was holding the reins, subconsciously leaned against the
saddle in order to support himself. Just now she was going on about how it was
inconvenient for her to ride with another man since she was already promised to someone,
and moments after, she decides to come at him. Miao Yi thought to himself, I am the one
who should be worried about my sanctity here.
Actually, he now had some reservations—he had yet to ride a horse with a woman before,
especially not one so beautiful.
The Lady Boss saw him pretending to steady himself with the saddle, and couldn’t help
rolling her eyes, wondering whether she was really that scary? Normal men couldn’t even
hope for this, and he was pretending to be all righteous.
Miao Yi did not think that now was the time to worry about these trivial matters, so he
decisively untied the other two reins to pass to the other four, and took over the one from
the Lady Boss. He anxiously said, “Then let it be so! Everyone follow my earlier
instructions, we must quickly leave this place.”
The four of them looked at the Lady Boss in puzzlement, as if asking, Lady Boss are you
sure about this, sharing a steed with him?
The Lady Boss obviously knew what the four of them were thinking. She quickly glared at
them, pointing towards the figure currently pulling a horse down the stairs. Behind Miao
Yi’s back, she opened her mouth and made an ‘O’ shape. The meaning was clear—she was
messing with him.
Then immediately after, as though she were a feeble girl, the Lady Boss sheepishly
followed after Miao Yi.
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 52: Mystic Arts Temple (7)

As he was mounting the horse, another problem arose.

The Lady Boss had a wheat-colored luster to her skin, and gave the impression of a
relatively toned woman, yet it was as if her body could be easily blown away by the wind
—she couldn’t even get on the horse after lifting her leg and trying to climb up several
times.
Miao Yi could not continue looking on, and had reached out to give her a hand, but she
inadvertently shied away. Clenching her lips, she demurely said, “Men and women should
not be so intimate.”
“I……” Miao Yi almost fainted. You are going to be riding on the same horse with me,
and yet you are still playing coy.
The Lady Boss held the reins for support and once again tried to climb, but to no avail.
Miao Yi was going to faint soon, what time did she think it was already.
Unable to hold back a moment of fury, Miao Yi sent a heavy slap straight to her perky
butt, smacking it with a crisp ‘pa’.
The Lady Boss was shocked, she covered her butt and turned around, her eyes widened as
she glared at him.
The laymen that were carrying the palanquin, the confucian scholar, and the cook were all
wide-eyed, their eyeballs almost popping out of their sockets, and their mouths were
gaping so wide one could stuff an egg inside.
Miao Yi didn’t think too much about it, he was simply annoyed by this troublesome
woman. Were it not for him being indebted to this bunch of people for sending him that
warning, allowing him to avoid misfortune, he really wished to wash his hands of them.
As though he still had yet to realize what he’d done, he picked up the dazed Lady Boss off
the ground, and hoisted her up the horse.
Just as he was about to get on top of the horse himself…
“Danglang… dang… dang…”
The stifling chime of a lute resounded from the dead silence of the temple, shocking Miao
Yi to a standstill. He then hastily pulled down the Lady Boss, who was still staring at him
cautiously, to his back and guarded her with his body, his transcendence vision quickly
surveying his surroundings.
Yet he was the only person who was nervous, the others were still looking at him dazedly,
clearly still in shock from his previous display of slapping the Lady Boss’ butt.
After the storm, under the cool refreshing moonlight, the weed-infested courtyard was
empty and quiet; there was no trace of a person, yet the rings of the lute continuously
resounded throughout the entire courtyard. It was not known from where it came, and
though it was quite melodious alongside the trickling sounds of water from the eaves, no
one would care if it was melodious or not under these circumstances.
Miao Yi could not deduce where the lute sounds originated, the Lady Boss and her crew
slowly came to a realization and inadvertently glanced at the well in the courtyard, then
quickly displayed expressions of terror; they planned to see how Miao Yi would handle
this situation.
The “dang dang” sounds reverberated incessantly, it carried a lonely and eerie tune, as
though it were filled with a frustration that had no place to vent.
Miao Yi lifted up the silver spear in his hand, pointed at his surroundings and shouted,
“Who is this demonspawn impersonating as ghosts!”
From the ghostly lute sounds, the soft sigh of a girl echoed forth, as the strumming sounds
continued, the girl’s voice eerily resounded throughout the courtyard, “A friend that comes
from a distant place is a joyous occurrence, since you are already here why so anxious to
leave? You might as well listen to a song of mine.”
The lute sounds paused, Miao Yi suddenly stared at the well in the courtyard, readying the
spear in his hand.
Only to see a foggy, blood-red Yin breeze creeping up from inside the well. Within the Yin
breeze, a greyish-white pearl the size of a quail egg flashed outwards, carrying the blood
mist with it as it floated to the center of the courtyard.
The blood mist quickly solidified, eventually turning into a meek and beautiful girl with a
hairpin tying up her luscious hair.
The girl was wearing a red bridal robe, and the bone white lute in her arms slowly
descended onto the ground. She tucked her knees and sat on a tuft of grass, gently hugging
the lute and playing it by herself—the depressing chimes of the lute resounded once more.
When this girl showed up, the three horses instinctively started neighing , as though they
were in a state of extreme fear. They stomped their hooves as they tried to circle around
the red-clothed girl, and then dashed towards the exit.
The red-clothed girl playing the lute had an indifferent look on her face, and softly sighed,
“Some play the lute to the bull, and here I am playing it to the horse, aye! An animal that
does not know my sentiments, what is the use of keeping it.”
As she finished saying this, the three horses had just passed by two ponds that were next
to the temple gates. Suddenly, from out of the pond a few ferociously large hands shot out,
grabbing their hooves, and in seconds had pulled them into the water.
The horses struggled in the pond, continuously neighing in distress, flailing about with
loud splashes, but they were promptly repressed by the large hands, and blood soon rose to
the surface of the pond.
The Lady Boss and crew revealed expressions of shock and fear—they were all trembling
from terror.
Miao Yi swept a glance at the two ponds, he hadn’t expected that the other party would
still have quite a few helpers; it seems it will be hard to end on peaceful terms today.
But with his temperament, and after being trained by Lao Bai for so many years, he was
not someone to waver from fear. He pointed his spear and shouted angrily, “You are a
ghost cultivator! We just came to this desolate temple for shelter from the rain. We have
no grievances with you, so why did you kill my steed?”
The red-clothed girl paid no heed to his complaints. She lifted her elegant face, a look of
sadness in her eyes as she gazed at him.
The slender fingers continued to strum the lute, and harmonising with the anguishing
tones of the lute, she grumbled despondently, “A new daughter-in-law to a certain farmer’s
house, visits Buddha in hopes of a seed, but the temple sheltered beasts unforeseen,
humiliating and tainting the girl, casting her to the water temple…. Henceforth,under the
ancient pagoda trees, the strumming of the lute, the wafting of a dissipating fragrance,
filled with a desolate sorrow, they carry emotions of over a thousand days—who will
know the tears behind the red song….”
Miao Yi was taken aback, but luckily he learned a bit of poetry with Lao Bai, so he could
roughly understand the meaning.
The female ghost seemed to be saying that she was originally the new daughter-in-law to a
farmer’s household, but when she came to the temple to pray for a child, she was soiled by
the Buddhist disciples, and died in the well….
Thinking to this point, Miao Yi couldn’t help wanting to vomit—he’d actually eaten food
that was cooked with water drawn from the well.
The Lady Boss and crew’s expressions also began to change. They had also eaten food
that was cooked with the well’s water, and were starting to feel a bit nauseous.
Everyone was disgusted, but compared to the female ghost’s tragic past, they barely
managed to accept that fact.
“You want us to help avenge you?” Miao Yi asked cautiously.
Amidst the resounding of the lute, the red-clothed girl shook her head, and sighed, “I have
already taken revenge. I simply wish for a kindred spirit to hear my grievances.”
Miao Yi’s expression relaxed, he looked up at the sky, and said calmly, “Very well!
Tonight we shall stay here and listen to your grievances, and then leave in the morning.”
He had never fought a ghost cultivator before, so he was prepared to take the safer course
of action for now.
The Lady Boss hid behind him, muttering something to his back. What she was saying
couldn’t be heard, but it felt like she was asking about Miao Yi’s mother.
“Since you are already here, then stay. Why were you in such a rush to leave when you
just came? I am quite lonely here, so won’t you spend some more time with me?” the red-
clothed girl complained as she looked at Miao Yi.
Miao Yi knitted his brows, and asked, “How long do you want us to stay with you?”
The red-clothed girl grumbled, “Naturally it would be best if you could all stay with me
forever, listening to my rants every night.”
“Forever?” Miao Yi deadpanned.
“What? You are unwilling?” The red-clothed girl had a sad look on her face again, along
with the depressing lute sounds, it was even more pitiful.
Miao Yi turned around to look at the people behind him, looked at the female ghost and
smiled, “That is fine and all, but they still have pressing matters to attend to. What say you
let them leave first, and I will stay here with you, how does that sound?”
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 53: Mystic Arts Temple (8)

The Lady Boss and her group had traces of shock on their faces. They were all examining
Miao Yi closely, and caught on that he planned to distract the female ghost by himself,
allowing them to escape. But with his cultivation, the end result would be hard to tell.
There was no longer any signs of mockery in the Lady Boss’ eyes as she looked at Miao
Yi; a cultivator with such a temperament was hard to find in the cultivation world.
Men may not feel much, but in a woman’s eyes, men were all the same!
“No.” The red-clothed girl shook her head. “It has been far too cold here, and since you’ve
come all this way, then all of you should stay!” Her tone brooked no room for discussion.
Miao Yi’s expression gradually grew colder, it seemed as if nothing he said would be of
use. He readied his spear for battle, and slowly uttered, “And if we don’t stay?”
The red-clothed girl looked at her slender fingers as they were strumming the lute. She
shook her head slightly and said, “Since you are already here, do you think that decision is
up to you?”
Miao Yi slowly clenched the spear, and he pushed the Lady Boss and her crew behind
him. “You all retreat to the temple, then leave from the back.”
As soon as he finished saying this, the Lady Boss immediately waved to her back, and the
bunch of them instantly ran away, without a single moment’s hesitation.
Splish splosh splish splosh, they ran inside the temple, but they didn’t leave, and instead
hid behind a broken window, looking at the events unfolding outside.
“Dang dang dang….” The red-clothed girl’s fingers sped up, and so did the sounds of the
lute. She lifted her head and said to Miao Yi coldly, “Even if you plan on leaving, I will
still make you stay.”
Miao Yi thrust his spear and shouted, “Let us go, and we can end this peacefully,
otherwise, even if I have to sacrifice myself, I will exorcise you, malicious spirit.”
“With just your White Lotus First Grade cultivation you wish to exorcise me? If you had
not killed those two, I might have been slightly afraid….” the red-clothed girl laughed
coldly.
Miao Yi’s spiritual point had already been hidden by the Soul Concealing Paste, yet the
enemy still knew his level of cultivation. It was clear that this female ghost had already
heard much beforehand, no wonder she chose to show up now.
The red-clothed girl’s thin fingers suddenly moved faster, the sonorous lute sounds
clanked hastily throughout the temple, and soon after, loud splashing noises came from the
two ponds.
Miao Yi quickly casted a cold glance at his surroundings, only to find bald zombies
crawling out, one after another. He could vaguely see that under all the mud and grass the
zombies seemed to be wearing monk robes.
They had all been turned to zombies. Uncertain as to how many years had passed, the
clothes hadn’t even rotted away yet.
Bald? Monk robes? Could it be that these zombies were originally the monks of this
temple? Miao Yi was stupefied—was it possible that all the monks of the temple were
killed by this female ghost?
In a short while, over a hundred wet zombies were stumbling their way towards him,
crowding together and clawing around, each of their faces were beyond recognition.
The lute melody shifted again, and it was as though the over hundred zombies received an
order—they groaned as they circled around the red-clothed girl sitting on the wormwood,
and like a wave, they were running towards Miao Yi.
“Why aren’t you leaving!” Without even turning his head, Miao Yi shouted angrily to the
people that were peeking from inside the temple.
Barely having any time to speak, he was already being surrounded by the group of
zombies as they clawed around him.
The Lady Boss and group remained indifferent, and continued to watch the chaos.
Even though these zombies were full of weaknesses, they were unbelievably strong, and
could destroy a low-leveled cultivator’s transcendent defenses. They feared no pain nor
death, and were extremely vicious.
A single White Lotus First Grade cultivator wasn’t capable of defeating over a hundred
zombies, and even a White Lotus Second Grade would have a hard time accomplishing it.
It seemed as though the Lady Boss’s group wanted to see how many zombies Miao Yi
could defeat.
Miao Yi moved as fast as a rabbit, the spear in his hand struck out like a whirlwind with a
cold glint, hitting an approaching zombie on the chest and sending it flying with a single
strike.
With his spear in hand, he struck out and pulled back. Spear in hand, each of Miao Yi’s
strikes rushed forth like the drizzling rain, the cold glint of the spear tip constantly
flickering.
In a few short moments, over ten zombies had rushed forward with their claws ready to
strike, and they were all swept away by the spear.
But the ones in the back did not fear death, and continued to charge, yet were still unable
to break past the cold net of Miao Yi’s spear.
However, through the control from the red-clothed girl’s lute, the hundred over zombies
no longer converged on a single point, and instead separated from one another,
surrounding Miao Yi and attacking simultaneously. The Lady Boss and her group all grew
anxious as they saw this.
What vexed Miao Yi the most was that he always managed to pierce the zombies’ hearts,
but was unable to kill them. The zombies that were blown away all got up once again, and
continued to attack him.
Those zombies that had their legs cut off were also crawling towards him, as though there
was no way to kill them permanently.
If this continued, even if he wasn’t killed by these zombies, he would die of fatigue, and
the female ghost cautiously watching hadn’t even made her move yet.
This was also a result of his inexperience in dealing with zombies.
But as Miao Yi burst the head of a zombie with a single strike, he finally found the
experience he needed. This was the experience of battle, more precious than anything else.
The zombie that had its head blown to pieces flailed about on the ground, yet did not get
up again.
Having found an opening, the spear in Miao Yi’s hands struck without mercy, like
crushing gourds he burst tens of zombies’ heads, one after the other.
The red-clothed girl looked on coldly, the tempo of the lute’s melody was furiously fast.
“Ho……”
The zombies all started roaring, one after another, wildly charging from multiple
directions.
With so many zombies, they had no way to attack together, so those that could not get into
the front of the crowd all leaped upwards—over ten zombies charged from overhead, and
Miao Yi was suddenly thrust into an extremely dangerous situation.
The confucian scholar and the cook all quickly turned their heads to look at the Lady
Boss, but she still had an indifferent expression on her face as she looked on, not showing
any response.
She noticed how at that moment, Miao Yi had a decisive and sharp glint in his eyes, like a
hawk. He was calm and quiet, there was not a trace of fear on his face, but actually turned
more vicious and uncompromising.
She was surprised to see that Miao Yi actually closed his eyes under the congregated
attacks of the zombies.
Lao Bai once said, to a cultivator at your level, the more you panic, the easier it is for your
sense of sight to make errors. By confusing your own eyes, you end up making unsuitable
choices. This was why Miao Yi had to close his eyes when he stood under the waterfall.
A wave of cold light suddenly shot out from Miao Yi’s hand, the silver spear quickly
pierced and struck its targets— he was spinning and striking within his confinement at a
blindingly fast pace.
And he was striking with his eyes closed.
He managed to recall the sensation of striking out with his eyes closed from when he was
being beaten under the rushing waterfall. He managed to grasp the feeling of when he was
surrounded by more than thousands and thousands of Tyrant Fish under the deep sea.
It was as though he no longer carried any emotion within himself right now, with only a
single connection between his target and the spear in his hand—he only had to strike the
target.
Over a hundred zombies simultaneously charged at him, leaping ferociously.
Yet even though he was being surrounded to the point his figure could no longer be seen,
the flash of the spear in Miao Yi’s hand showed no signs of stopping.
The cold light that was striking in all directions, it was calm, decisive, vicious, stable, and
accurate. The zombies either had their heads burst one after another, or were struck
backwards hitting the zombies that were charging to the front.
Such a display would stupefy anyone. It had nothing to do with the level of strength, and
was more like a sheep being surrounded by a hundred tigers, yet the sheep managed to
display a domineering and unbeatable aura.
The confucian scholar and the rest, they all had serious looks on their faces, and once
more turned to look at the Lady Boss. They did not know if the Lady Boss shared their
sentiments, but right now they felt as though they had the word ‘solemn’ stuck in their
heart.
“Good kid! Good courage! Good spunk!” the confucian scholar muttered.
 Soaring the Heavens

Volume 1
Chapter 54: Mystic Arts Temple (9)

A look of surprise flashed through the clear eyes of the Lady Boss.
She wasn’t someone who was hard to come by, so inherently she was a bit suspicious of
Miao Yi, and if he knew of their true identities and what they were capable of. He could
have been putting on a pretentious front in order to give a favorable impression of himself,
worming his way closer to them.
However, the scene unfolding in front of their eyes was absolutely not fake. He was
heavily surrounded and yet was calmly fighting with the best of his abilities. He was
practically disregarding life and death.
It was justifiable if the person had a high cultivation base, but Miao Yi had a lower-tier
cultivation base, did not have a profound level of transcendence energy, and wasn’t
assisted by a transcendent artifact. Yet, he displayed the brilliance of an unyielding man’s
bravery and temperament. Not just women, even if men saw his display at this very
moment, they could only use shocking to describe it.
The Lady Boss was now extremely curious as to who Miao Yi’s master was. Judging by
Miao Yi’s form of attack, it was evident that this was a method used to countermeasure
against group assaults. A person without experience in being beaten by a crowd would be
unable to learn this particular method of dealing with group assaults.
In the cultivation world, people who usually dared to deal with group attacks were those
with a profound level of transcendence energy and thus had the ability to suppress a crowd
alone. Otherwise, they would normally make a hasty escape in order to save their own
lives. But the person who taught Miao Yi obviously had experiences quite different from
others.
Having such a proficient method of dealing with group assaults and at such a young age,
Miao Yi had clearly gone through a long period of training. It was impossible that he’d
comprehended it on his own. She was able to tell, starting from when he had calmly
closed his eyes.
She had no clue as to how Miao Yi’s master had trained Miao Yi to this state. This was
certainly not some folk’s tale from the secular world, talking about jianghu heroes who
could fight against scores of people on their own. Those were all exaggerated tales.
Without the attribution of transcendence energy, a human body made of flesh and bone
would be impossible to train to achieve Miao Yi’s skill. Miao Yi’s incoming attack had
already harmonized man, arts and spear together.
Perhaps it was easy to teach skills, but this kind of temperament, this kind of vigor that did
not falter when facing death was difficult to teach. Without a master who was broad-
minded and open, it would be impossible to train a disciple like this. Thus, the Lady Boss
was considerably curious as to which master in the cultivation world had the ability to
produce such a disciple. In all likelihood, the master must also not be an average person!
It was uncertain as to when the melody from the lute had stopped.
Palala! Keeping his eyes closed, Miao Yi dragged the spear as he swept his spear across
the ground, before turning it around, revolving his body as he swept it with a quick speed.
Six of the zombies had yet to fall, all of them with legs severed by the speartip, and
instead had their heads burst by the returning cold glint sweeping across. One by one, they
flew backwards and fell struggling onto the ground, no longer able to get up.
The final six zombies had fallen. Over one hundred zombies were left with intestines
emerging from their cut bellies, or had been dismembered, or were just pools of black and
sticky blood splattered everywhere. It was a ground that left one full of disgust yet was
also a ghastly sight. Some of the arms and legs were still twitching.
Spear held horizontally in hand, Miao Yi suddenly opened his eyes, glaring straight at the
red-clothed girl who was now hugging the white-boned lute. Slowly, he hoisted the spear
in his hand, directing the speartip right at her.
The red-clothed girl stood up in a daze, staring at Miao Yi in a dumbstruck manner. She
had been heavily shocked by Miao Yi.
Within the temple, in front of the old window, the Lady Boss’s gaze twinkled as she stared
at Miao Yi, a look of extraordinary splendor flashing by.
The confucian scholar and the rest were throwing glances at each other. Over a hundred
zombies, and yet to their surprise, they were all wiped out by a kid with a cultivation of
White Lotus First Grade?
Miao Yi abruptly glanced behind at them, and angrily shouted, “If you’re not leaving now,
then until when do you intend to stay?! Do you really want to drag me to my death here?”
The rage he was feeling was practically indescribable. He’d been stalling time for them so
they could easily make their escape, but who would have thought this group of people
were still here?
If not for the fact that these few people had warned him in time and saved his life, he
wouldn’t be throwing his life away in this place—he’d just run away without considering
anything else.
The confucian scholar and the rest were slightly embarrassed, had they gone too far? He
was obviously filled with grief and indignation to his limits.
They cast a glance at the Lady Boss as though asking, what do we do now?
But that Lady Boss, whose bearing gave a feeling of unruliness, pursed her lips tightly—
she was apparently unhappy at the fact that Miao Yi was not afraid to lose his temper at
her.
The melodious sound of the lute gradually sounded out again in the temple.
The red-clothed girl played leisurely with her hands, faintly saying, “I never would have
thought that a White Lotus First Grade cultivator like you would have such skills. I have
underestimated you. You’re called Miao Yi, right? Miao Yi, if you agree to stay and
become my partner in Yin-Yang duo cultivation, then I will no longer make things difficult
for you. How about from now on, you and I will be in love with each other, forgetting
about all the disturbances in the world?”
Under the moonlight that appeared after the rain, the tempo of melodious sound from the
lute suddenly became sentimental. The expression of the red-clothed girl seemed to also
carry a slight hint of tenderness.
Yet, the Lady Boss’s lips curled in a shameless manner. When a woman finds another
woman to be an eyesore, they tended to behave this way.
Conversely, her gaze dropped onto Miao Yi, watching his reaction.
“Can I think about it?” Miao Yi asked.
When the question came out of his mouth, the implied mockery in the corner of the Lady
Boss’s lips was even more apparent.
The red-clothed girl smiled sweetly. “Hopefully, you won’t make me wait too long.”
“It won’t be too long.” Gripping onto his spear, Miao Yi leapt over the ground littered
with zombie corpses, eventually descending under the eaves of the temple, turned around
and then entered.
The Lady Boss and the rest who were hiding by the temple window, watched him enter
and once again acted like they were so scared their legs were too weak to run with.
Miao Yi shook his head grudgingly, realizing that he had forgotten they were mortals and
were frightened till they didn’t dare move about recklessly.
In the temple courtyard, the red-clothed girl hugged her white-boned lute as she raised her
head to gaze at the moon. Her hands strummed the lute, her skirt twirling while she
revolved lightly and unhurriedly, as she gently sang and danced with grace.
She was not afraid of Miao Yi escaping. Miao Yi had fought a round with Mo Shengtu and
the other man, and again fought a fierce battle with over a hundred zombies. His
transcendence energy definitely would have been more or less depleted. Even if he wanted
to run, he would not be able to escape her grasp.
Indeed, he did not let her wait too long. Miao Yi’s voice travelled out from the inner hall.
“I have thought about it.”
The red-clothed girl giggled. “So?”
“Come in and we’ll talk.”
She could only hear Miao Yi’s voice and had yet to see any traces of him.
The red-clothed girl’s eyes flickered. She wasn’t exactly scared that Miao Yi would play
any tricks. Spreading out her arms, she lightly descended onto the corridor under the
eaves, hugging the white-boned lute as she leisurely strolled in, only to see Miao Yi
holding onto his spear towering over her just inside the residence. The other commoners
were trembling with fear and trepidation behind his back.
The red-clothed girl casually strummed the strings of her lute, stretching out her arm and
gently held her beautiful, thick hair as she laughed. “Hopefully Husband won’t disappoint
me.”
“I definitely won’t disappoint you!” On the palm of his hand, Miao Yi held onto a
porcelain bottle that the cook used to store condiments.
“What’s this?” the red-clothed girl asked puzzlingly.
All of a sudden, Miao Yi tossed out the bottle and smacked it over with a strike of his
spear.
Pa! A cloud of mist exploded inside the hall.
The red-clothed girl waved her sleeve, invoking her art as she swept the air back
continuously, not allowing the dust to get near her. It was at that moment that she heard
Miao Yi shout in a stern voice, “Yin Dispersal Powder!”
“Yin Dispersal Powder?” The expression on the red-clothed girl changed abruptly. She
appeared to recall something, and looked as though she was terror-stricken. Letting out a
shrill scream, she fled from the shrine in a flurry.
This item, Yin Dispersal Powder, Miao Yi had also heard about it from Yan Xiu, back
when he told Yan Xiu he had to come here to eliminate the ghost cultivator.
This item was said to be formed by utilizing the ghost cultivator’s nemesis—the drought
demon’s inner core—and grinding it. It was an item of supreme Yang properties. For an
ordinary ghost cultivator, a small stain would basically burn them until their souls flew
away and scattered. For minor cases, they would be burnt till their strength was greatly
depleted or their vitality was severely wounded.
From the change of the red-clothed girl’s expression upon hearing the name, they knew
how much of a deterrent power this item had against the ghost cultivator.
Meanwhile, the group of figures had already quickly fled out of the backdoor of the
temple courtyard, scuttling towards the mountain forest under the moonlight.
In the end, that Lady Boss was carried in Miao Yi’s embrace as he ran madly.