Chapter 305 – Ever-Growing Ancestral Seal, The Shadow in Li Yuan’s Heart - Part 1

What did extra chances to break through and even more seeds really mean? Li Yuan mulled it over.

Above him, thin, pale snowflakes fluttered down again. They landed on his face, his shoulders, the tips of his hair—soft, almost warm.

It’s falling far more often than back when I lived in Gemhill

, Li Yuan thought.

An entire winter there might see this kind of strange snowfall once; now, I’ve already seen it several times.

He frowned and looked up. A perfect moon hung in a clear sky, yet

warm

snow whirled across the mountain ridges, something that could exist only in another world.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Hundreds of kilometers away, an old village lay hidden in drifting fog. Every house was full, yet everyone slept on, smiling in sweet, greedy dreams.

Deep in the white mist something like a giant snake slid past with a faint

hiss

.

Elsewhere came a hoarse

oink-oink

, like a pig snorting.

Drawn by that sound, dream-walkers drifted about. The instant they touched anything—earth, stone, knives, or even people—they dropped to all fours and stuffed it into their mouths in frenzy.

That was just the surface. Worse horrors crawled unseen.

The warm snow swirled all around yet never crossed the village line, so life inside went undisturbed.

Outside the fence, spring blossoms flourished.

Inside, the air grew heavy and cold.

Nor was that the only place.

In a flower shop deep within Little Ink Mountain, a headless river carried chalk-white corpses downstream, each blooming with exquisite flowers—beautiful, yet ghastly.

Curiously, the blossoms outside flourished thanks to the warm snow, and so did these sinister blooms within.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Ancient ghost street.

Several undying husks in enormous lotus-patterned robes hurried past, whispering in grave tones.

“The warm snow lets the Heavens draw up vast Yang and rain it back down, turning poor soil rich...but it also concentrates the Yin in certain pockets.”

𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

“Exactly, the flower shop and exotic beast garden. Their worry-free flowers and desire dew will spike again. We should stock up while we can.”

“Thank the gods for Apparel Atelier. We’ve filled the last gap in our finances.”

“Worry-free flowers, desire dew, plus poison... Is it time to plant another black lotus?”

“Indeed, another one.”

“Splendid! I can’t wait to see black lotuses blooming under open sunlight. I’m itching for that day to come!” The newest voice dripped with rapture, and came out of nowhere.

A heartbeat earlier, the speaker hadn’t existed. The moment he spoke, the other undying husks fell to their knees.

“Greetings, Cult Leader.”

He looked like a peerless young beauty—delicate, radiant, yet unmistakably male.

Silver hair spilled over a snow-white cloak whose back bore a vast twelve-petaled black lotus.

This was Peng Mingyi, the cult leader of the Black Lotus Cult.

Beyond that face, his eyes drew every gaze—sightless, flawless as carved jade. Had Li Yuan been here, he would have noticed how closely he resembled Sheng’er.

Peng Mingyi, too, was a natural born ghost—a jade husk in human guise.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Li Yuan knew none of this. He merely sat outside a mountain valley, letting his birds sweep overhead for a better view.

He was the type to ponder without spinning wild theories. Since the warm snow made no sense yet seemed unrelated to him, he set it aside and turned to what did matter.

He had created the Bladeseeker’s martial cultivation technique.

Zhao Chunxin, Xu Sheng, Yang Teng, and the rest had condensed seeds that should have driven them mad. Yet after he absorbed those seeds, they stayed sane, reverted to normal sixth rank martial artists—and could still wield their original ancestral seals.

So where did those seeds come from? Why did some of his disciples like Xu Lan vanish? He still remembered the little girl standing in a downpour years ago, vowing to destroy the world, and how he, half-jokingly, had offered to teach her how.

Li Yuan waited. He felt sure the valley would hand him the truth, or at least a clue.

Midnight passed; the valley lay silent.

Half the night gone, he withdrew.

Time slipped by.

The next day came and went. Then the third. And the fourth.

Li Yuan’s patience was legendary. Even as a fifth rank martial artist, he clung to his oldest habit.

See clearly, then strike.

During those days, his flock of birds evolved as well; most now hovered around 1~3, no longer the frail 0~1 of old.

Li Yuan had no choice. His thousand-mile thread couldn’t carry living creatures, so every scouting run meant finding birds on the spot.

If not for this restriction, he would have brought along eighth rank flying demonic beasts. But here the best he could recruit were ordinary birds.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

A month later.

The Bladeseekers erupted in chaos—shouts, clanging, and even burts of blade energy that Li Yuan could sense from afar. One of the blades felt uncannily like his own Ruling Blade.

Moments later, his guess proved right. A young man was dragged out of the compound.

From high above, Li Yuan’s bird observed the scene.

The young man looked handsome in an honest way, with a broad face and large ears. He now lay contorted, unconscious on a stretcher.

Two sixth rank Black Lotus Cult disciples sped with him west.

The youth was one of the very first street urchins of the Grand Abode. His birth name was Cheng Ermao, later changed to Cheng Mao as he grew older.

His overall combat power was 350~700—early sixth rank, yet displaying a ceiling that was completely out of the norm.

They carried him toward the valley. About five kilometers away, Li Yuan’s eyes narrowed. Cheng Mao radiated another breakthrough trigger.

The birds tailed them to a second, quieter valley.

Within the valley was a garden, and amid the flowerbeds stood three people. One was a fifth rank spear-wielding general in gold armor. The second was a sixth rank woman in a black lotus robe. And the third was a sixth rank woman, surprisingly, in a green lotus robe.

Li Yuan had met many fifth rank martial artists before, but never one from the imperial army, and never anyone from the Green Lotus Cult.

“Same arrangement as always. You strip his memories and desires; I’ll refit the body into a fearless soldier,” the green robed woman said.

“I have no idea who left this Bladeseekers technique behind, but it’s a priceless treasure.” The black robed woman sighed with admiration. “When these disciples break through into sixth rank, they conjure up different ancestral seals and grow absurdly strong.

“Once we turn them into exotic beasts, they can forcefully step past the fifth rank wall. No other sixth rank martial artists can do that. Thanks to them, we can push things ahead of schedule.”

“His Majesty says if the Lotus Cult truly can mass-produce fifth ranks, he’ll wait. Then we’ll spring a lovely surprise on the usurpers holding the Central Plains,” the golden general rumbled. Then he flicked his spear.

Boom!

With a shockwave, it pierced the sky before swooping back down, skewering one of Li Yuan’s birds on the tip.

“That bird has been circling for some time. Is that the work of your undying husks?”