Chapter 19 : Thinking of It This Way Is Best

Chapter 19: Thinking of It This Way Is Best

Cheng Hua saw Elder Yue Su and her master in the courtyard.

The two were of similar age, both richly adorned female cultivators, surrounded by rosy spiritual aura.

They conversed like old friends, and even the flowers and grass around them seemed to share in the honor, glowing brilliantly.

The two stopped speaking.

At the same time, they looked toward Cheng Hua.

Her master’s expression was not good, though she forced out a faint smile.

“You’re awake? How do you feel?”

“Master… when did I return to the mountain?”

“Two days ago. Elder Yue Su happened to pass by the place of the incident and rescued you… only returned here earlier today.”

Cheng Hua suddenly sensed something.

Her whole body trembled.

Her beautiful eyes fixed on Elder Yue Su.

“What about… the others? Senior Sister Cui… and Fang Chang?”

Elder Yue Su remained expressionless, her voice carrying a chill. “Cui Wenxi cultivated Gu insects and followed a demonic path, ultimately harming others and herself. Her cultivation is completely lost, and she has been stripped of her inner sect disciple position.”

“What…”

“As for Fang Chang, I do not know who you are referring to.”

“He was the Corpse Refinement Path cultivator carrying a coffin… he was nearby at the time…”

“Watch your words! As an inner sect disciple, you must speak cautiously! Do not be misled by hypocrites from the outside!”

A Fifth Realm Heart Fasting cultivator—emptiness giving rise to clarity, domain just beginning to form.

Her words rang out like a bell, and the reprimand instantly turned Cheng Hua’s face pale.

Yet Cheng Hua refused to yield.

She stiffened her neck and said:

“That person saved me multiple times. I promised to bring him into the sect and guide him back to the righteous path.”

Elder Yue Su’s expression darkened slightly.

She had not expected that Cheng Hua—usually so “pure-hearted and detached, with a clear Dao Heart”—would dare to contradict her like this.

Her brows rose sharply, her chill intensifying.

Just as she was about to flare up,

another person stepped in.

Cheng Hua’s master, dignified like a sacred statue, was completely unaffected by the Fifth Realm Dao speech and easily protected her disciple as well.

Light shimmered in her eyes.

She was full of curiosity toward Cheng Hua’s rare emotional agitation.

“Alright, alright. As long as you’re alive, everything else is trivial… once you recover, you can go down the mountain to find him.”

As she spoke,

she turned to look at Elder Yue Su.

“Yue Su, I thank you for saving my disciple. I will repay you another day.”

As she spoke,

she emphasized the words “saving” and “repay,” implying something deeper.

Elder Yue Su remained expressionless, showing no reaction to the veiled threat.

As if nothing had happened, she politely took her leave and turned into a streak of light, departing.

Once the surrounding spiritual fluctuations calmed,

“There’s no need to worry about your Senior Sister Cui. After all, she’s from the Cui family—losing her position is merely for show…”

Her master suddenly sneered. “Besides, she has rendered great merit. She’ll only live better than before.”

“……”

“Enough of that. Who is this Fang Chang you mentioned? A man, I assume? Is he handsome? How’s his cultivation? How many people in his family?”

“…He is a man, yes, but his cultivation is quite poor.”

“What about his looks?”

“Barely passable… I can’t quite remember anymore… Master, why are you asking this?”

“You said he saved you multiple times. Now that you’re separated, do you feel anything else in your heart?”

“No.”

Hearing Cheng Hua’s calm, undisturbed answer,

her master’s excitement deflated somewhat.

She had no issue with being pure-hearted and detached, with a clear Dao Heart.

But her disciple being like this…

Cultivation followed the Dao—, Sitting in Forgetfulness, returning to the origin.

Most people believed cultivation was a process of withdrawing from the world.

Yet most mortals, from the moment they awakened awareness, had already entered the world.

But someone like Cheng Hua, who had never truly entered the world at all, yet was already detached from it—this was deeply concerning.

“However…”

Cheng Hua suddenly added, “he seemed to have feelings for me.”

Her master wasn’t surprised.

She knew her disciple well—though expressionless, those straight jade-like legs and her exceptional cold beauty were unmatched even within the mountain.

For some loose cultivator from outside to become infatuated with her was perfectly normal.

If Cheng Hua could recognize that,

it wasn’t a bad thing.

Cheng Hua nodded, as if affirming her own thought.

“Yes, he should have feelings for me.”

As she spoke,

for some reason, that gloomy figure flickered again in her mind.

It caused a faint ripple in her calm Dao Heart—so subtle it was almost imperceptible.

Strange.

She frowned slightly. Clearly, she was saying he had feelings for her—so why did it feel, the more she thought about it, as though she was the one thinking of him?

“……”

Silence settled over the air.

“Hmm?”

Her master, who had been leisurely lowering her eyelids, suddenly raised them.

She stared in astonishment at her disciple’s calm, expressionless face, yet somehow sensed a trace of gentle confusion that even Cheng Hua herself hadn’t noticed.

She was stunned for a moment.

Then couldn’t help but curl her lips, her beautiful eyes flashing with delight.

“Good, good, good! Thinking of it this way is best!”

…

…

Fang Chang drove the carriage for several days, crossing the border between Yan and Chu, and finally stopped within the territory of Tai Prefecture, in White Egret City of Yan.

In the early storyline of 《Fallen Immortal》, most dynasties did not avoid cultivators.

Thus, in such a prosperous city, immortals and mortals mingled.

Though cultivators were stronger, each nation possessed dragon qi, entangled with fate and karma—few cultivators would mix too deeply with imperial powers.

Because of this,

even as rulership in Tai Prefecture changed hands repeatedly, White Egret City had stood for a thousand years.

By the time Fang Chang arrived, it was already late at night.

The starlight was dim.

All kinds of cultivators carrying magical artifacts or riding swords filled the streets in bustling crowds.

Most of them wore splendid clothing, radiating upright and righteous energy—clearly righteous path cultivators at a glance.

“Why has White Egret City gathered so many cultivators?”

Zhao Yuntong’s voice transmitted from within the Black Tortoise Square Cauldron.

This place was crowded and chaotic, unlike the Red Willow Mountain Range.

If Fang Chang walked around carrying a coffin, his identity as a Corpse Refinement Path cultivator would be immediately exposed.

He might attract righteous sects seeking to punish evil.

To avoid trouble, he simply tossed the coffin into the Black Tortoise Square Cauldron and disguised himself as an ordinary cultivator.

“You don’t know?”

“Two days ago, Luo Yi of the Pure Yang Path was bewitched by someone from the Flaying Path. They colluded and slaughtered eighteen cultivators before defecting from the sect.”

“It just so happens that the Medicine Master Manor of White Egret City is holding the five-year True Cultivator Assembly. They’ll likely discuss how to deal with those two.”

Zhao Yuntong understood.

The True Cultivator Assembly wasn’t on the level of the Twelve Orthodox Paths—it was originally created by the Loose Cultivators’ Alliance.

As its influence grew in recent years, the Twelve Orthodox Paths began sending younger cultivators to participate.

She let out a soft sound of surprise.

Something suddenly felt off.

“Wait, two days ago you were still with me at the edge of the Red Willow Mountain Range. You didn’t have any communication tools—how did you learn this?”

Fang Chang smiled but didn’t answer.

Zhao Yuntong frowned, disliking his pretentious air.

She snorted and said:

“You, a Corpse Refinement Path cultivator, carrying me—a Yin Corpse of the Obsession Path—evil upon evil. Don’t tell me you plan to join the excitement at the Medicine Master Manor.”

“No need to worry. Though the True Cultivator Assembly is part of the righteous path, its foundation lies with loose cultivators—their realms won’t be too high…”

“Who’s worried about you?”

“…Don’t interrupt. Most of these cultivators from various sects are here to watch the spectacle or fish in troubled waters. They just don’t know that during the assembly, the Nine Heavens Secret Realm will appear.”

“The Nine Heavens Secret Realm?”

Zhao Yuntong was shocked.

Anything worthy of being called a secret realm was no ordinary roadside opportunity.

“Quite unfortunately for everyone else, I just happen to possess the key to the Nine Heavens Secret Realm.”

Fang Chang chuckled.

He tapped the Black Tortoise Square Cauldron.

The golden key appeared before Zhao Yuntong, displayed for her to see.

Though she couldn’t see his face, she could already imagine his smug expression.

She silently drew in a breath.

From their first meeting, to his guidance on the Obsession Path, from the One Lamp Temple exit to the treasure within the Black Tortoise Square Cauldron, and now this Nine Heavens Secret Realm—

this level of foresight was almost terrifying.

This man was unfathomable.

Zhao Yuntong’s gaze grew complicated.

“Everything along the way, including me… was all part of your plan?”

“On the contrary.”

Fang Chang shook his head. “My plan failed from the very beginning.”

He gently rubbed the cauldron, as if touching Zhao Yuntong through it.

“The corpse I originally wanted to refine was Cheng Hua. But the moment I saw you, I knew I had to obtain you—to refine you into a Yin Corpse.”

“……”

Clearly, he was speaking about choosing a target to kill.

Yet Zhao Yuntong’s pupils softened, her heart tingling uncontrollably as an overwhelming sense of satisfaction surged within her—

the satisfaction of being needed.

She buried her flushed face in her arms, desperately suppressing the smile tugging at her lips.