Chapter 584 - 474: Forget Me (2)

Chapter 584: Chapter 474: Forget Me (2)

Only a small portion of those with a steadfast Dao Heart can timely withdraw and retreat.

Nocturnal City doesn’t care about this. It just quietly waits here, tempting those who can be tempted.

Unfortunately, the vast majority cannot withstand any temptation.

As soon as the group from Yunshan Sect entered the city, a large crowd of qi cultivators with emaciated figures, prominent cheekbones, and sunken eyes rushed forward, eagerly trying to sell themselves for a task guiding water extraction.

But in the next moment, they saw the Yunshan disciples in their uniform sect attire, with varying numbers of feather ornaments hanging from their arms.

It’s Yunshan Sect!

Everyone stopped abruptly, showing respect on their faces, hurriedly retreating to make way.

Having thoroughly mixed in here and parasitically lived in Nocturnal City, they certainly understood the weight of the three words "Yunshan Sect".

Rising swiftly, legendary stories, defeating the former Chongming Dominator Xuanguang Sect with outstanding martial arts, then advancing into Sanshan County, forcing Liyuan Sect to cede land and pay reparations, not daring to look south, and thus spanning across Chongming and Sanshan Counties, becoming a power among the northwest heroes of Cangzhou.

At the same time, also one of the controllers of Nocturnal City. It is said that this indulgent city was orchestrated single-handedly by the Yunshan Sect Leader, Lu Qian.

Yunshan Sect’s reputation for seeking talent thirstily also spreads widely. After ascending to a Golden Core Sect, every Dragon Gate Assembly during the Six-Six Festival at Shuangye Square becomes an event that loose cultivators dream of participating in.

Unfortunately, the recruitment standards today have become increasingly higher. Some cultivators with modest skills can only listen to various rumors in the marketplace, imagining the past scenes of Yunshan Sect accepting talents without bias, feeling frustrated for coming late by a few years.

Yunshan cultivators didn’t have time to pay attention to those fallen cultivators with bone-thin figures, as their focus was mostly on Hai Shuangyao.

Wu Yan beckoned a disciple to quickly go to the Yunshan Sect office in Nocturnal City to inform the local person-in-charge to come over immediately to welcome them.

Meanwhile, Hai Shuangyao stood there, looking at the colorful streets and signs, along with the varied, unrestrained crowds, making a surprised cheer.

She simply stood there, incessantly asking Jiang Baitao one question after another, asking the purposes of various buildings, and wondering why this cultivator is like this, and why that person is like that...

A few Foundation Establishment cultivators felt intrigued upon seeing this situation.

This Golden Core Master seems like a child, curious about everything, filled with a vibrant desire to learn.

Could this be the true nature of this Master?

To her various questions, Jiang Baitao couldn’t really answer them; she had only been to Nocturnal City once for its completion ceremony, after which Lu Qian issued a ban to Yunshan disciples. Unless required for tasks, strictly prohibited to enter Nocturnal City.

If entering the various entertainment venues in the city, as soon as discovered by the discipline group, the lighter the punishment, it’s salary deduction and restriction, but the heavier can result in stripped cultivation!

Thus now, Jiang Baitao had to fabricate stories based on her guesses and understanding. Unexpectedly, Hai Shuangyao nodded continuously, looking thrilled and delighted.

After standing for a stick of incense’s time, Hai Shuangyao finally had enough of looking and eagerly wanted to dive into a building, only to be grabbed by Jiang Baitao.

"Ahem." Jiang Baitao assumed a serious expression, "Shuangyao, you are a mortal, and there are places mortals cannot go. You have to follow me, I will take you to where you can go."

Hai Shuangyao nodded like pecking rice: "Right, then you take me to the places mortals can go. Once today is over, tomorrow I won’t be a mortal anymore, I’ll go to other places."

This mortal game is too nonsensical! Wu Yan was at a loss, not knowing what to say.

Just then, a flying craft descended straightly, and several cultivators emerged from it. A young man stepped forward swiftly, approaching Jiang Qingfeng with a grand salute: "Congratulations on your Foundation Establishment success, Master!"

At this moment, Wu Yan’s heartbeat skipped.

...Brother Le.

Lin Le had grown a short beard, appearing more mature and composed. With a key position, often in a high rank, his manner naturally cultivated an extraordinary demeanor.

Wu Yan gazed at him, her vision suddenly becoming blurry. Everything she tried to forget came surging back clearly in her mind.

The last time they met was six years ago, wasn’t it?

Brother Le is at Qi Cultivation Level Five now? Good, good, he finally can pilot a flying magical artifact himself, soar across the sky.

She couldn’t help but take a step forward, and at this moment, countless words seemed ready to burst out, but she forced herself to hold back.

That night once again surfaced in her mind, and those decisive words seemed to resonate again.

"Sister Yan, I can’t walk this path with you anymore. The gap between us keeps widening, destined to be unbridgeable."

"On the Dao path, I see no future. But your talent is remarkable; achieving Golden Core is a natural progression. How can we call ourselves Dao partners in this case?"

"I don’t care, Brother Le!" Wu Yan’s tears streamed unrestrainedly as she clung fiercely to his arm, "I will always protect you. Since childhood, in that dirty muddy pit, you’ve protected me countless times, now it’s my turn..."

"But I care." Lin Le sighed deeply, he attempted to pry Wu Yan’s hands off, but couldn’t even budge them, "I’m too weak; just like now, I can’t even break free from your grip."

Wu Yan anxiously released her hands: "No, it’s not like that, Brother Le...it’s my fault, I’m just too strong..."

She seemed to recall something, like grasping at a lifesaving straw, shouting spontaneously: "Did someone gossip? Wait, I’ll go find the master—"

"It’s not." Lin Le’s voice was very calm; this was a decision he’d pondered for a very long, painful time, "I’m too weak, I’d burden you, becoming a source of pain in your Dao journey."

"No, I don’t care about your cultivation." Wu Yan shook her head desperately, "Are you worried I’ll look down on you? Brother Le, trust me, regardless, my feelings for you won’t change."

Lin Le, however, began to smile; his smile carried an intimate sadness: "Sister Yan, precisely because I believe in your feelings for me, I can’t stay with you anymore."

"You’ve reached Foundation Establishment; you’ll have four hundred years of life, eventually reaching Golden Core, with a lifespan of eight hundred years. I have barely two hundred years. Even if we have happiness now, when my physical form decays and flesh deteriorates, seeing your loved one slowly fall away, how painful would that be."

"The Sect Leader said that for a Golden Core Master, cultivating heart and nature is the primary task; otherwise, heart demons flourish, making advancement to Nascent Soul impossible."

"Instead of letting future pain disrupt your nature and become an obstruction in your Dao journey, it’s better to sever these emotional ties now."

"Of course, that is just one of many concerns I have. For instance, if you become a Golden Core Master, enjoyed by a region as sovereign, but I’m only a Qi Cultivator, how would others see you? What would they say about you? Words can drown; ultimately, these rumors might turn into sharp knives, wounding your state of mind."

"Also, my cultivation barely allows me to protect myself. If someone wishes to threaten you, I could be easily captured as leverage. I can’t possibly hide within the mountain gate forever."

...

Reciting one sentence after another, Wu Yan’s tears were pouring down like rain, her heart in chaos, not knowing how to argue.

"I can’t let such things happen." Lin Le said, "So let’s end now, Sister Yan. Use time to forget me, then pursue your own Dao journey well."

Wu Yan, choking with tears, intermittently uttered: "You wait for me, I will strive to cultivate, achieve Golden Core, achieve Nascent Soul, eventually find a wondrous method to repair the Spiritual Root, and then you will—"

But Lin Le sighed; his gaze was unusually serene.

"It’s useless, Sister Yan. Spiritual Root cannot be altered; it is a Celestial Mandate."

...

Afterward, Lin Le voluntarily went out of the mountain gate, residing in the marketplace as a Business Steward, vigorously managing Yunshan Sect’s business affairs.

In his deliberate avoidance, he hardly met Wu Yan again. ℯℯ𝘭.

Now thinking back, the past words seemed to linger in her ears; Wu Yan’s body gently trembled, quickly wiping away the flowing tears.

Alright, Brother Le, I will try to forget you...forget you...