Chapter 127: A Muddled Life

"Your dying wish is to reach Foundation Establishment?"

Li Chang’an asked calmly, his expression indifferent.

Lu Yuanji spat out a mouthful of blood and shook his head with difficulty.

"No, it’s not Foundation Establishment..."

His voice was hoarse and extremely weak.

On the verge of death, he didn’t utter any threats or beg for mercy. Instead, he began to speak of his life.

"I was originally just a scholar in the Mortal Realm. While cutting wood in the mountains, I ran into jackals. I thought I was a dead man for sure, but then I was suddenly saved by an Immortal..."

Lu Yuanji’s life story was nothing short of legendary.

An encounter with an Immortal in the mountains!

Many such stories circulated in the Mortal Realm, but very few people had ever experienced it themselves.

"You’re luckier than me, then."

Li Chang’an said to Lu Yuanji.

He had caused countless disturbances in the Mortal Realm just to attract an Immortal’s attention, but in the end, none had ever taken an interest in him.

"Lucky?"

Lu Yuanji cracked a grin, as if to laugh, but his expression was filled with sorrow.

The Immortal who saved him was a Foundation Establishment Elder from the Cyan Cloud Sect.

The Elder discovered he had a Spiritual Root, so he brought him back to the Sect and took him as a disciple, stating outright that he, too, could hope to reach Foundation Establishment one day.

At first, Lu Yuanji’s cultivation progressed smoothly.

He truly thought he could reach Foundation Establishment in this lifetime.

But the good times didn’t last.

Not long after, a junior sister he was on very good terms with suddenly framed him, claiming he had stolen her Foundation Establishment Treasure. The treasure in question was then "discovered" in his room.

He was left speechless, unable to defend himself.

Just as he was about to be hauled off to the Sect’s prison, he had no choice but to use a rare Treasure obtained in a Secret Realm to desperately escape the Sect.

"At the time, I couldn’t understand why my junior sister would frame me. I only figured it out later. Our master’s Foundation Establishment Resources were limited. One less person meant one less competitor."

Lu Yuanji sighed.

After leaving the Sect, he came to the Qinghe Region.

Along the way, he happened upon several Tribulation Cultivators trying to kill a disciple of the Zheng Family.

He immediately rushed to help and drove off the Tribulation Cultivators.

However, that Zheng Family disciple coveted the Magical Artifacts he carried.

When the other Zheng Family disciples arrived, the one he’d saved immediately accused Lu Yuanji of being in league with the Tribulation Cultivators.

In the end, Lu Yuanji fought a pitched battle against them and escaped, heavily injured.

"So that’s why. No wonder you’ve always targeted the members of the Zheng Family."

After hearing his story, some of the questions in Li Chang’an’s mind were finally answered.

All this time, although Black Wind Mountain had attacked all three major families, they had particularly targeted the Zheng Family, as if nursing some life-and-death grudge against them.

"Yes... those Zheng Family disciples, every one of them is so sanctimonious. But deep down, how are they any different from Tribulation Cultivators?"

Lu Yuanji said weakly.

After that incident, he had planned to leave the Qinghe Region.

On his way out, he happened to pass a manor. The air was thick with the stench of blood. The people inside had all been killed by Tribulation Cultivators, and mutilated bodies littered the ground.

Taking pity on them, he dug a large pit, intending to bury the bodies.

However, when he was only halfway done, a Zheng Family patrol passed by. The leading Cultivator attacked him on sight, insisting that he was the one who had murdered everyone in the manor.

"At the time, that Zheng Family Cultivator asked, ’If you didn’t kill them, why would you be giving them a burial?’"

Lu Yuanji gave a bitter laugh as blood trickled steadily from the corner of his mouth. His voice was tinged with helplessness.

With no other choice, he was forced to fight yet again.

He killed several Zheng Family disciples.

And narrowly escaped the encirclement with his life.

After that, he was inexplicably framed for several other incidents.

Several atrocities, which he clearly had no part in, were all pinned on him.

"In the days that followed, many Righteous Cultivators came to hunt me down. If I didn’t kill them, they would kill me."

Lu Yuanji’s face was pale as he murmured in a low voice.

"I’ve killed so many people—good people, bad people... I can barely remember them all anymore. I’ve just muddled my way to where I am today..."

All these years, the one belief that kept him going was reaching Foundation Establishment.

It was all because when he first became a disciple, his master had said that he had the potential to reach Foundation Establishment.

"The only reason I wanted to reach Foundation Establishment was to prove to him that he wasn’t wrong about me."

As he spoke, a hint of regret crept into Lu Yuanji’s weak voice.

He had come to Yellow Crane Immortal City specifically to find a way to reach Foundation Establishment.

But his luck was just too poor. On his way here, he ran into the Five Poison Wanderer and was brought under his control. With his life no longer his own, he had no choice but to turn to the Yellow Crane Mountain Lineage for help.

Ultimately, he promised Huang Feng and Huang Liang that he would eliminate Li Chang’an for them.

If he succeeded, the two of them would help him break free from the Five Poison Wanderer’s control, giving him a chance to once again pursue Foundation Establishment.

But now, it had all come to nothing.

"I wonder how Master is doing now."

As death approached, scenes from his past floated before his eyes.

He fell into a daze, as if he had returned to that mountain forest, once again the skinny scholar who had just been saved by an Immortal.

"Little one, it’s dangerous here. Where is your home?"

His master’s concerned voice echoed from the depths of his memory.

Lu Yuanji’s broken body lay in a pool of blood, his unfocused eyes staring at the sky.

"I really wish I could go back to the Sect... to see him just one more time..."

As his voice faded, his aura dissipated completely.

And with that, the legendary life of Black Wind Mountain’s Big Master came to an end.

"Safe travels, Daoist Lu."

Li Chang’an took the Storage Pouch and Treasures from his body, then collected his head.

He then cast several Talismans.

Blazing flames erupted, consuming Lu Yuanji’s mangled corpse.

With a flicker of his form, Li Chang’an quickly collected the Array Flags from the surrounding space.

Before long, the entire Hundred Swords Spirit Slaying Array was stowed away in his Storage Pouch.

He restored the courtyard to its previous state, as if nothing had ever happened.

Li Chang’an then left and returned to his own residence.

...

「Inside the room.」

He sat cross-legged and began to appraise the Treasures he had obtained.

’The function of this Soul-Chasing Shuttle is quite similar to the Shadow-Chasing Puppet,’ he mused. ’It can hunt an enemy based on their aura, without requiring any mental effort to control it.’

An eerie light flashed in Li Chang’an’s hand, and the Soul-Chasing Shuttle appeared.

This was a Tier Two Spiritual Artifact, after all; its power was astounding.

An ordinary Qi Refining Cultivator wouldn’t stand a chance against it.

Li Chang’an tested it out and was very satisfied.

’Not bad. It’s a new ace up my sleeve. I can’t rely on the Sword Array every time.’

He put it away.

As for the other Quasi-Tier Two Magical Artifacts, they were all Water Element Magical Artifacts and didn’t match Li Chang’an’s own elemental affinity.

Even if he forced himself to use them, he wouldn’t be able to wield them very effectively.

’I’ll have to find some time to sell them,’ he decided.

Next, Li Chang’an removed the restriction on Lu Yuanji’s Storage Pouch. As he opened it and looked inside, a smile immediately bloomed on his face.

"The Nine-leafed Blue Flower!"

He spotted the Treasure almost at a single glance.

It was one of the three treasures Zhou Sheng needed!

With a thought, Li Chang’an took it out.

The wondrous flower was a deep indigo, with nine leaves. It looked as if it had been condensed from the depths of the ocean, containing a vast yet gentle Spiritual Power that was of immense benefit to cultivators with a Water Spirit Root.

The Profound Water Turtle raised its head, its eyes filled with longing.