Chapter 394 - 372: Void Door Opening, Stealth Race

No wonder the Heir of Prince Yun wanted to marry into the Stealth Race. With a wife like that, what in the world could possibly be hidden from his eyes and ears?

The world is vast, but where could he not go? It was simply an unbeatable ability!

Song Ciwan stood on the bamboo raft, silently sensing her surroundings. In that moment, she was struck by the absurd feeling that the void around her was filled with unseen eyes and ears.

Though there was nothing but wilderness around them, she couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. It made her uneasy whether she stood or sat, moved or remained still.

It was a primal instinct, but after only a moment, Song Ciwan calmed herself and shook off the feeling.

At her realm of cultivation, it was impossible for her not to know if she was truly being watched.

’And if there truly is a form of surveillance that can evade my senses,’ she thought, ’then frankly, being uneasy is pointless. On the contrary, it would only cause me to lose my composure and make a mistake in my panic, leading to an unforeseen outcome.’

Song Ciwan chuckled softly, letting out a breath. "Amazing!"

Though she spoke only a single word, it was filled with an ineffable sense of thrill and danger.

Yin Xunyi looked at Song Ciwan and raised his cup to her again. Some things didn’t need to be said aloud; they both understood.

The abilities of the Stealth Race were, in truth, only unbeatable in theory. In practice, there were surely limitations.

When a Cultivator reaches a high enough realm, they often develop a strange ability the Daoist Family calls a "Sudden Inspiration."

In other words, highly advanced Cultivators often have a special sense for matters concerning themselves.

If this sense should suddenly arise, it is an instinctual warning from the unseen depths of their perception, one that must be taken seriously.

This is why it is often said that those at the Earth Immortal Realm and above can be defeated, but are difficult to kill.

Why?

Because upon reaching the Earth Immortal Realm, one naturally senses impending calamities. Seeking fortune and avoiding disaster is an instinct for Cultivators at this level and beyond.

Of course, this instinct isn’t foolproof. Otherwise, there would be no such thing as an inescapable fate.

To counter this instinct, there are also various methods to obscure or divine the Celestial Secret. When masters clash, if one’s senses are clouded, or if one makes the wrong choice based on a faulty perception, a single misstep can mean losing everything.

But there is no need to delve into the intricacies of such killing tribulations here.

Song Ciwan’s earlier cultivation of the Great Derivation Birth Skill was precisely to cope with such situations.

Her thoughts moved at the speed of light, branching out in an instant as she considered many possibilities.

Yin Xunyi hadn’t seemed to directly explain why the Heir of Prince Yun wanted to marry into the Stealth Race. Yet, by saying so much, he had somehow managed to explain everything with perfect clarity.

Song Ciwan poured him another cup of wine, then one for herself. She then suddenly countered with a question of her own. "Daoist Yin, you’ve only explained why the Heir of Prince Yun would marry into the Stealth Race. But why would the Third Princess want to marry the Heir of Prince Yun? Do you happen to know?"

Yin Xunyi faltered for a moment, not expecting Song Ciwan to approach the question from such an angle.

After a moment’s pause, he laughed. He threw his head back to drink, still sitting cross-legged on the raft, and trailed one hand over the edge into the water.

The water slipped like silk through his fingers. In a state that was neither drunk nor sober, he chuckled. "As the old poem says, ’A gentleman’s love may yet be escaped, but a lady’s love cannot be shed.’ Who knows? Perhaps it is simply so?"

Seeing his devil-may-care attitude, Song Ciwan couldn’t help but laugh as well.

She said, "It seems even you don’t believe those words, Daoist Yin."

"Indeed," Yin Xunyi said. "Nothing in this world is absolute. In my youth, I was infatuated with my senior sister. I swore eternal oaths, threatened to live or die by her side—I practically offered to dig out my own heart for her to see. And yet, one moment she was all affection and devotion to me, and the next, she had turned and thrown herself into another man’s arms!

"People always talk of devoted women and heartless men. But such worldly sayings are nothing more than prejudice."

"There are devoted women, and there are heartless women. There are heartless men, and there are devoted men. Wouldn’t you agree, Daoist Song?"

That little speech was practically a confession of his romantic history!

’To be honest, it’s quite the bombshell,’ Song Ciwan thought. ’So Yin Xunyi, ranked thirteenth on the Celestial Pride List, was actually scorned in his youth.’

’And the most incredible part is that this Celestial Pride seems to still be hung up on his senior sister, even now.’

Since he’d already brought it up, Song Ciwan asked out of curiosity, "Daoist Yin, since you’re still upset about it, why not just go win your senior sister back?"

Yin Xunyi raised his wine cup and drank it down.

His eyes grew hazy. He tapped his fingers in the water, as if keeping a beat, and began to hum a simple, ancient tune.

"If her heart’s not in it, then I’ll let it be. She’s no longer willing, so what would I look like pestering her endlessly? Am I the type to cling to someone who doesn’t want me? No, I can’t be! Hahaha..."

He laughed and hummed, proving his earlier words true: Song Ciwan had the wine, and he had the stories.

His story was a bit cliché and vague, lacking a proper narrative arc or any dramatic twists and turns.

But because it had happened to a Celestial Pride, even a clichéd, fragmented tale seemed to take on a legendary quality.

Yin Xunyi truly seemed drunk now. He said, "Back then, I had no aptitude for cultivation. I was just a little beggar on the outskirts of the city, fighting with stray dogs for scraps. It was my senior sister who saved me! She took me back to the mountain, taught me swordsmanship, and led me to slay demons..."

He spoke in fragments, jumping from one thing to another, but he only spoke of his senior sister’s virtues.

"Why did I become a beggar? Hahaha, that’s because... my family... was devoured by demons!"

"After we went up Mang Mountain, everyone else managed Qi Introduction. But me, even after practicing my sword forms thousands of times, I couldn’t even touch the threshold of True Qi."

"My fellow disciples on the mountain all mocked me, calling me a simpleton. Everyone urged my senior sister to give up on me. But she told me that no one in this world is born completely without the aptitude for cultivation. As long as you are Human and possess a spirit, you can definitely cultivate!"

"A normal person practices Qi Cultivation for a hundred days to achieve Introducing Qi into the Body. If I couldn’t do it, I would practice for a thousand days, or ten thousand days... Of course, I don’t have that long to live. If I really tried to practice for ten thousand days, I’d probably die of old age before I even succeeded!"

"So, my senior sister came up with a new method for me. She said I had a talent for the Sword Dao. Since pure Qi Cultivation wasn’t working, I would enter the Dao through the sword!"

Just as Song Ciwan was getting engrossed in the story, Yin Xunyi stopped. He said no more.

He changed the subject. "The current Emperor has nine sons, who were enfeoffed as the Nine Princes. Prince Yun is one of them."

Song Ciwan knew very little about such matters concerning the Great Zhou Immortal Dynasty.

The affairs of the Court had always been shrouded in mystery for the common folk.

Since Yin Xunyi had brought it up, Song Ciwan didn’t mind the change of subject. In fact, she was more interested in hearing about the state of the world than she was in his love story.

Yin Xunyi said, "The current Emperor has been on the throne for over one hundred and thirty years. Before him, no emperor’s reign ever exceeded ninety-nine years. The current Emperor is the first exception since the founding of the Immortal Dynasty."

Song Ciwan listened intently, a tremor running through her heart.

The Great Zhou Dynasty was called an Immortal Dynasty for a reason—there were actual Immortals serving in the Court.

The Emperors all pursued Cultivating Immortality, or at the very least, Martial Arts Training.

Naturally, for an Emperor who pursued cultivation or martial arts, living past a century should be easy, not at all surprising. And if the Emperors lived long lives, it stood to reason that their reigns would also be long.

But Yin Xunyi had just said that no Emperor’s reign had ever exceeded ninety-nine years—except for the current one.

’Where there is an exception, there is bound to be something strange afoot.’

Previously, living among the common people, Song Ciwan had felt that while the Great Zhou Immortal Dynasty had its flaws, its rule was fundamentally stable.

But now, after just a few words from Yin Xunyi, she felt an unexpected sense of impending turmoil.

Was the rule of the Great Zhou Immortal Dynasty truly so stable?