Jiang Yunxi took the jade pendant to a pawnshop and exchanged it for eighty taels of silver.
She was only ten years old and had never seen so much gleaming silver before, so she thought she had gotten a good deal.
In reality, the shopkeeper had seen that she was young and had taken advantage of her, intending to cheat her out of a fortune.
The jade pendant was made of the finest jade. Even if it had originally been an ordinary piece, Jiang Rongyi had worn it close to his body for several hundred years, allowing it to be tempered by countless currents of spiritual energy. It had long since become a spiritual artifact.
A jade pendant worth a thousand taels had been bought for a mere eighty—and sold as a dead pawn at that. Even if they learned the truth later, there would be no chance to regret the transaction.
Jiang Rongyi, who had cultivated for so long that he had no idea how expensive everyday necessities were, never imagined that the pawnshop had cheated him. He merely sighed, “I knew Zhou Siwei wouldn’t be able to give me anything good.”
He immediately planned to spend every last one of those eighty taels, unwilling to leave himself even the slightest attachment to them.
He had been a villain for a hundred lifetimes and had never suffered in terms of food, clothing, shelter, or transportation. Even now that he was down on his luck, he had no intention of restraining his bad habits.
Even in such a remote backwater, his clothes had to be the most exquisite garments in the embroidery shop, his face powder had to be the most expensive, and even the horse pulling his carriage had to be the most splendid one available.
At his instruction, Jiang Yunxi spent the silver as if it were water, receiving only a few items in return.
Jiang Rongyi, however, was delighted. First, he removed the damaged sea-silk robe he was wearing and changed into the clothes woven by the village seamstress. Then he picked up the box of face powder and dabbed some onto his fingertip, using it to cover the crimson cloud-shaped marks beneath the corners of his eyes.
Those two red marks were the signature feature of the villain Jiang Wuwang. No one in the cultivation world was unfamiliar with them. Since he had no way to conceal them with an illusion spell, he could only use a mortal’s methods to cover them up.
Jiang Rongyi’s eyes had been injured, leaving his vision blurry. He practically had to press his face against the mirror to inspect himself. Only after deciding that he could see no flaws did he call for Jiang Yunxi and prepare to set off for Shangyin City, lest they miss the Jiang family’s test.
“Why don’t you rest for a few more days?”
Jiang Yunxi was still worried about him. After all, Jiang Rongyi still looked half-dead.
Jiang Rongyi paid no attention to his condition. With the energy the system had left inside him, it was difficult for him to die even if he went out of his way to do so.
“It’s only a three-day journey to Shangyin City. Nothing will happen.”
Perhaps Jiang Rongyi was simply born to attract trouble. Even during those three days, they managed to run into an accident.
It was all because the rented carriage was far too luxurious. Bandits in the wilderness mistook them for easy prey. After two arrows were fired, the coachman was killed on the spot, an arrow piercing straight through his heart.
The horse bolted in fright and ran for some distance before finally coming to a stop.
Inside the carriage, Jiang Rongyi was tossed around until he was completely disoriented. The moment he managed to sit upright, he hurriedly spat out a mouthful of blood.
He himself did not feel much of anything. He was only a little regretful that his brand-new clothes had been stained with specks of crimson the moment he put them on.
Jiang Yunxi peered outside through a gap in the curtain. The coachman, who had originally been sitting outside, had vanished. All that remained was a pool of blood and several arrows embedded in the carriage floor.
“Brother?” Jiang Yunxi forced down her fear and glanced back at the sickly Jiang Rongyi. “Brother, I’ll carry you and run.”
Poor Jiang Yunxi had never had enough to eat or wear since she was little. She was thin and frail, and at that age, she only came up to Jiang Rongyi’s waist.
Even though Jiang Rongyi had once been a ruthless villain who had committed every manner of evil, he could not bring himself to make a little girl carry him.
Besides, he was too lazy to run. He simply stayed in the carriage and waited for the bandits to come to him.
Jiang Rongyi’s eyes were half-blind at that point, which made his hearing seem all the sharper.
He could sense a chaotic chorus of footsteps rushing toward them. From the sound alone, he knew that the newcomers were ordinary people without the slightest trace of cultivation.
Jiang Yunxi trusted her brother completely. When Jiang Rongyi told her there was no need to run, she obediently sat down beside him. Even when the bandits roughly tore down the curtain covering the carriage door, she did not dodge.
The birthmark on Jiang Yunxi’s face was far too conspicuous. The fierce-looking bandit noticed her first and frowned in disgust.
“An ugly freak?”
Then he saw Jiang Rongyi sitting inside, and his eyes lit up.
“There’s a fine one in here!”
A bandit who had fallen behind heard him, shoved the man in front aside, and reached in to drag Jiang Rongyi out. He spoke crudely and lewdly as he did so.
“Let your old man have a taste first! We agreed on this last time!”
“Brother!” Jiang Yunxi cried out sharply and stood up to shield Jiang Rongyi.
How could a little girl be a match for a bandit? Before he had even used any force, the bandit shoved Jiang Yunxi aside.
“Get lost, you ugly freak. Just looking at you makes me sick.”
Jiang Yunxi crashed into the side of the carriage and struck her forehead. Her head began to buzz, and for a moment, she could not even manage to crawl back up. All she could do was murmur, “Brother…”
After cursing at her, the bandit turned back to Jiang Rongyi and flashed him a lewd grin.
“Beauty, come out and have some fun.”
As the “fine one” in question, Jiang Rongyi curled the corner of his lips. The fresh blood staining his normally pale lips made him look all the more captivating.
The bandit saw his lips move slightly but did not hear what he said, so he instinctively asked, “What?”
“I said…” Jiang Rongyi repeated softly, “all right.”
For some inexplicable reason, the bandit felt a chill run down his back. He suddenly found himself afraid to reach out and grab Jiang Rongyi.
The other bandits outside began jeering.
“What a coward! You’re scared of a girl?”
The bandit spat to the side and shouted, “Stop yelling! I’ll take care of him right now!”
In the end, the bandit did not get his way.
A young man dressed in white descended from the sky. With nothing but his own strength, he sent the entire group of bandits fleeing in terror without getting so much as a speck of dust on his robes.
Tan Jingfang had come from Penglai Immortal to the Jiang family in Shangyin City to collect the most promising children of the new generation and take them as disciples into the path of cultivation.
Halfway there, he had encountered bandits robbing travelers and harassing an innocent woman. Naturally, Tan Jingfang could not stand by and do nothing. He had drawn his sword and come to her aid.
The young man then walked to the carriage and offered a gentle reassurance.
“Miss, you must have been frightened. The villains have been dealt with.”
Jiang Rongyi blinked. All he could see was a blurry white shape approaching him.
Only then did Tan Jingfang realize that the person in the carriage was not the young woman he had assumed.
The young man had thin skin, and his cheeks instantly began to burn.
“I—I’m sorry!”
The best choice at that point would have been to turn around and leave, but for some reason, Tan Jingfang instead found himself asking, “Is there anything I can help you with?”
“Oh.” Jiang Rongyi finally came to his senses. “Our coachman is dead.”
And so, Tan Jingfang, the most outstanding disciple of his generation at Penglai Immortal, somehow ended up becoming their coachman.
Tan Jingfang resigned himself to his fate. With a surge of spiritual energy, he formed a guiding spell that allowed the horse to find its own way.
“Where are you going?”
“Shangyin City.”
Tan Jingfang could not resist sneaking glances into the carriage. Cultivators were cleansed by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, so it was rare for any of them to be unattractive. Once they reached the Golden Core stage, they even had a chance to reshape their bodies. As a result, everyone at Penglai Immortal was a handsome man or beautiful woman.
Yet none of them had ever possessed a beauty like the person before him.
True beauty lay in the bones, not the skin.
He needed no embellishment. With that person simply leaning there and casting a languid glance, it was enough to leave others craving more.
Tan Jingfang turned his head far too many times before finally meeting Jiang Rongyi’s eyes. He froze, unsure whether he should turn back or continue looking.
After a long moment, he finally managed to find a topic and asked, “I am Tan Jingfang. May I ask your name?”
It was rare for anyone to ask Jiang Rongyi’s name.
In the past, the righteous cultivators had called him a monster, while those of the demonic path respectfully addressed him as Lord of the Ten Hells. Only Zhou Siwei had ever dared to call him Jiang Wuwang.
So he answered with unusual seriousness. His tongue curled up to touch the roof of his mouth, and the final note fell softly, making the last syllable sound almost like a smile.
“Jiang Rongyi.”
After a thousand lifetimes of reincarnation, that name had remained firmly etched in his heart.
May your whole life go smoothly, with everything falling easily into place.
Seeing that both of them bore the surname Jiang, Tan Jingfang could not help asking, “Are you related to the Jiang family of Shangyin City?”
Jiang Rongyi closed his eyes wearily, leaving Jiang Yunxi to answer.
“We’re going to take the Jiang family’s test.”
“What a coincidence. I came from Penglai Immortal Sect. Since the Jiang family worships the Penglai Immortal Sect, according to the rules, every ten years the sect takes two disciples from the Jiang family.”
Tan Jingfang was normally a man of few words, but today he was racking his brain for ways to continue talking with the people in the carriage.
“Penglai Immortal Sect?” Jiang Rongyi opened his eyes. Supporting himself with one hand against the seat, he leaned forward, narrowing his eyes with some effort as he drew closer to the two men and finally saw Tan Jingfang’s appearance clearly.
He was only a boy of eighteen or nineteen, fair and tender-looking, with a hint of baby fat. The spirit in his brows made it obvious that he was a successor from a prestigious orthodox sect.
Of course. Penglai Immortal Sect was one of the six great sects of the righteous path. Back then, it had been the strongest advocate of wiping out the demonic path with the combined strength of the entire righteous faction.
It had also sent people after Jiang Rongyi with the greatest enthusiasm. As a result, whenever Jiang Rongyi saw the silver-white uniform of Penglai Immortal Sect, he instinctively felt a splitting headache.
Still, the sect’s excessive hatred of evil had hindered its development. In the end, it had fallen from the leader of the righteous path to the last among the six great sects.
“I’m afraid I have no affinity with Penglai Immortal Sect.”
At the mention of Penglai Immortal Sect, Jiang Rongyi lost interest and lazily leaned back again.
Only then did Tan Jingfang remember that Penglai Immortal Sect accepted only children under the age of ten.
The younger they were, the less worldly experience they had. Their bodies had not yet been tainted by the foulness of the mortal world, making it easier for them to embark upon the path of cultivation.
Jiang Rongyi, however, was a grown man—clearly an ordinary person without any talent.
At the thought, Tan Jingfang inexplicably felt a pang in his heart. Someone like this…
Someone like this ought to have been born an immortal.
He should have stood above the clouds, looking down upon all living beings. No matter whom he looked at, his expression would remain languid, with a trace of pity between his brows. There would be no contempt in his eyes, yet somehow he would still make others feel utterly ashamed of themselves.
How could he be a mortal?
Tan Jingfang’s Dao heart nearly faltered. Fortunately, a Pure Heart Mark lit up between his brows, calming him down.
He was only a mortal. In ten or twenty years, he would wither like a flower at dusk, his youthful beauty reduced to a withered corpse.
The heart demon that had appeared from nowhere vanished. Tan Jingfang’s mind became clear, and his state of mind took another small step forward.
When they reached the gates of Shangyin City, Tan Jingfang did not even turn his head. He merely left them with the words, “Let us part here. Perhaps we will meet again if fate allows.”
Just as he silently recited the spell to summon the wind and take flight, someone suddenly called out behind him.
“Wait.”
Tan Jingfang turned halfway and unexpectedly plunged into a dazzling field of stars—Jiang Rongyi’s eyes.
All the preparation he had made became utterly useless. The colors and sounds around him faded away, leaving only the person before him vivid and distinct.
Amid the silence, Tan Jingfang heard his own chaotic heartbeat, along with the stammering voice that escaped his lips.
“W-What is it?”
Jiang Rongyi stated his purpose plainly.
“Can you lend me some money?”
The siblings were penniless, yet they still had to pay a certain fee to enter Shangyin City.
Tan Jingfang felt his body move against his will. He pulled out all the silver and spirit stones in his storage pouch, then regretted not bringing more money with him.
“Is this enough?” Tan Jingfang awkwardly offered up all the money he had.
“Enough. Thank you, big brother,” Jiang Yunxi replied.
Tan Jingfang seemed not to hear Jiang Yunxi at all. He stared blankly at the person inside the carriage, hoping he would look at him a little longer.
The Pure Heart Mark in his spiritual platform sensed that Tan Jingfang’s mind was becoming unstable, and it began to glow once more.
Tan Jingfang slowly regained his senses. He did not dare look at Jiang Rongyi again. Turning around, he rose into the air and flew away, leaving behind a crowd of astonished onlookers.
Only Tan Jingfang knew that he had fled in a panic.
“Was that an immortal?” Jiang Yunxi tilted her head back, her eyes reflecting Tan Jingfang’s departing figure.
Her eyes seemed to shine with light. She was filled with immense hope for the legendary world of cultivation and asked herself, “Can I become an immortal of Penglai Immortal Sect too?”
Jiang Rongyi covered his mouth and began coughing.
At once, Jiang Yunxi forgot all about her fantasies and hurried to care for her frail brother.
If she went to Penglai Immortal Sect, what would happen to her brother?
“Penglai Immortal Sect?” Jiang Rongyi stopped coughing and placed a hand over Jiang Yunxi’s. Leaning on her strength, he stepped down from the carriage. “If you want to go, then go to Shangyan Sect.”
Shangyan Sect—the foremost sect in the cultivation world.
Every member of the sect was a peerless prodigy. The most outstanding among them was the Sect Master of Shangyan.
He had reached the Core Formation stage in ten years and the Nascent Soul stage in a hundred. He was only one step away from shattering the void and becoming an immortal.
Even the Lord of the Ten Hells, who had dominated the demonic path for centuries, had been defeated by him.
His name was Zhou Siwei.
