Chapter 115 Forbidden Cliff
Immortal Spirit Valley—originally, it was not called by this name, yet the people of Immortal Spirit City always liked to refer to it so.
Over time, the name became the official title of this mysterious valley.
Even the few true residents living within the valley began to call their home by this name.
Outside the valley, a great formation shrouded the place in mist year-round. Like a thin veil, it cloaked the valley in hazy mystery. For ten years, countless curious cultivators tried to explore its secrets, yet always lost their way in the fog, only to return again to the starting point.
But this clearly did not include Ji Lingxiu and Chen Xingcai.
They skillfully crossed the edge of the formation.
Strangely, that ceaseless cold mist, upon sensing the aura of the two women, withdrew of its own accord as though greeting old acquaintances, opening a straight passage through the sea of clouds. In the drifting fog, one could faintly glimpse rare blossoms, spirit springs trickling, like a scene from a celestial paradise.
"This formation is rather sensible." Chen Xingcai wrinkled her small nose, her yellow garments fluttering in the morning breeze.
Ji Lingxiu only smiled without replying. This formation was her master's handiwork, naturally recognizing its own.
The two flew along the misted path, their robes sweeping up dewdrops as they passed. Soon they reached the valley's depths, where the view suddenly opened—before them stood a sheer cliff like one hewn by blade and axe, its rocky face draped with verdant spirit vines. Between the leaves lingered droplets of moisture, glistening under the setting sun.
Below lay an open grassland, lush like a green carpet, dotted with wildflowers of every color. A few butterflies danced lightly among the blooms.
In the very center of this lively meadow, a young man reclined lazily.
He rested casually upon his arm, a stalk of foxtail grass between his lips, its stem swaying as he chewed, casting a slender shadow beneath the sunlight.
His indigo robe was spread across the grass, grass blades clinging to its hem, yet he cared not.
Hearing the sound of air splitting, he did not even lift his eyelids, still maintaining that idle posture, as though even if the sky fell, he would prefer to finish his nap first.
From afar, the spring gurgled, birdsong chirped close by, making the scene all the more tranquil and timeless.
Ji Lingxiu and Chen Xingcai exchanged a glance, both letting out a quiet sigh of relief, then softened their steps.
And then—
"Senior brother, you're not dead yet?"
Chen Xingcai's crisp voice echoed through the valley, startling a few spirit birds from their perches.
The young man's body stiffened, the foxtail grass in his mouth dropping to the ground with a soft snap.
Xiao Chen pushed himself up with a wry smile, grass falling from his indigo robe. "So little Xingcai hopes her senior brother dead, does she?"
"Not at all!" The yellow-robed girl stomped her foot in agitation. "But last time, senior brother nearly…"
Her words faltered, her large eyes shimmering with tears.
Xiao Chen's smile froze.
That embarrassing incident from ten years ago, dragged into the open again, made his ears burn faintly red.
It was, without question, his greatest humiliation!
In truth, this cliff now called the "Forbidden Cliff" was once just an ordinary precipice within Immortal Spirit Valley.
Until one day, for reasons unknown, his master had taken sword as brush and inscribed upon the cliff the poem "Song of Youth."
Within the poem, sword intent surged, each stroke containing the supreme truths of the sword path.
If one's will was not steady enough, even the mere intent could wound.
"I was only… studying too intently." Xiao Chen rubbed his nose in defense, his voice trailing smaller and smaller.
Memories surged like a tide.
He had been eighteen that year, and when he first discovered the poem on the cliff wall, it was as though he had fallen under a spell, meditating before it for seven days and nights.
By the time his master found him, he was already gaunt from hunger, yet his eyes still clung to the cliff, blazing with a frightening light.
The most humiliating part was that little Xingcai, who had followed along, burst into tears on the spot, thinking her senior brother had been possessed.
"Entranced?" Ji Lingxiu folded her arms and sneered. "Someone even forgot about fasting, clutching the cliff without letting go, only to be hauled back by the scruff of his neck by Master."
Yet seeing him so composed this time, Ji Lingxiu suddenly entertained a bold thought.
The mountain wind brushed past, and the strokes of "Song of Youth" on the cliff faintly appeared.
Within those bold, iron-carved lines lay the profound truths of swordsmanship, enough to entrance anyone. Xiao Chen's gaze wavered once more upon them.
Chen Xingcai quickly spread her arms, blocking his view. "Senior brother is not allowed to look again!"
"All right, all right, I won't look." Xiao Chen's voice carried indulgence. This little junior sister was everyone's treasure. If he bullied her too much, once his two junior brothers returned, even they would turn against their senior brother.
Ji Lingxiu's eyes flickered and she suddenly asked, "Senior brother, have you comprehended it?"
Xiao Chen did not conceal it, nodding openly. "I wouldn't dare say fully, but I have grasped about thirty percent."
He looked up at the poem "Song of Youth" carved into the cliff, admiration flashing in his eyes. "As expected… it is truly Master's work."
After a pause, Ji Lingxiu asked again, "Is it for that 'Ten-Year Pact'?"
Xiao Chen was startled, then glanced at Chen Xingcai blinking innocently at his side. He immediately understood. "So little junior sister told you." He smiled, his tone relaxed yet firm. "Yes, the ten-year deadline has come. I cannot let others look down on our master."
In fact, he had already learned from Xiao Linger that the once arrogant fiancée now possessed no more than peak Tongxuan Realm cultivation, while he himself had stepped into the late Guiyuan Realm. The contest held no suspense.
But—
A chill gleam flickered in Xiao Chen's eyes.
He still remembered that sword from ten years ago, as clear as yesterday.
"To repay virtue with virtue, and to repay grievance directly." Xiao Chen murmured softly, his fingers unconsciously brushing the hilt at his waist. "Since it must be repaid, then it must be repaid in full."
The sword intent carved into the cliff resonated faintly, as if echoing his resolve.
…
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