The Devil is My White Moonlight - Chapter 20

On the seventh day of the fourth lunar month, the day where it was advisable to travel, seek wealth, set up a bed, get married, and worship a teacher, the Lingshan mountain opened.

The entire Hongye City was boiling. The young cultivators walked out of the inn and post houses, and gradually gathered into a stream of people and rushed to the west of the city. Some people walked alone, some with company, what’s more, some were with their parents and servants following behind.

Outside the west city gate, the Nie family in Lingshan had already prepared a short-distance flying boat. The Nie family’s disciples in red and gray robes performed their respective duties and led the people to board the boat in an orderly manner.

Short distance flying boats have simple functions and no complicated structure, just like ordinary river boats. It’s just that if it’s an immortal family’s artifact, even if there was nothing special in its shape, it will definitely pursue appropriate improvements in function. Therefore, even if the boat looked small on the outside, it was very spacious on the inside. There was an inner cabin in the middle and front part, and there was a circle of soft chairs along the side of the ship for rest, and the seats can be retracted.  It was also very convenient to look out by the railing. The stern was wide and there were several large tables with small colored dots. There were also groups of low tables and low chairs scattered about.

Most of the parents and elders who sent off their children entered the inner cabin to rest, while most young people chose to feel the wind outside the cabin. Many people participated in Lingshan discourse for the first time, and they couldn’t restrain the excitement on their faces.

The flying boat shook gently and slowly rose to the sky. The last time Zhu Yicheng came, he was held by his mother all the way and couldn’t free himself. This time he was finally left alone, just like a wild horse running amok on the flying boat. He looked around in the crowd, but unfortunately Luo Qingyao was dragged to chat by the immortal maidens of Meishan, and he was unable to get close to talk to her, so he had no choice but to walk to the direction of Mu Xiyun and Gu Qingqiao.

A person on the side of the ship suddenly turned around and squatted down quickly, startling Zhu Yicheng. It was a chubby young man, he was wearing a green robe that was bulging, his hands were slightly trembling, his knees were curled up, his head was bent deeply, as if he wanted to form himself into a ball. A man who looked like a gentleman said from the side. “You’re afraid of such a height? In the future, you will also fly up using your sword. How can you be afraid of heights?” But the young man still did not move. He became so angry that he blew his beard and glared at him. After a while of trying to no avail, he stamped his foot and went inside the inner cabin.

At the stern of the boat, Mu Xiyun leaned against the fence, and quietly watched everything underfoot gradually dwindle. Someone came to the side and blocked the cold wind from the high altitude. Gu Qingqiao smiled and handed over two pieces of snacks.

“Lotus cake, eat it quickly while it’s still hot.”

Mu Xiyun couldn’t help but laugh. Last night, the knot in his heart was untied, and this person immediately got a bargain and started to show off his cleverness. In the morning, he ran over to help out carelessly. He took his Qiankun pouch and put things in it, and didn’t stop until he almost missed breakfast. Now, he was worried that he didn’t eat well and brought some food and came to offer food like presenting a treasure to an emperor.

Mu Xiyun gave one to Zhu Yicheng. When Young Master Zhu saw the cake was exquisitely made, he ran to Luo Qingyao again. The sun was suddenly blocked, and people discovered that the flying boat had begun to descend slowly behind a mountain.

Below, was a huge square.

Looking down from the flying boat, the square was like a huge chessboard, divided into squares by walnut-colored slim blocks. After the flight landed on the ground, people discovered that these “blocks” were actually carts selling goods.

The carts were of the same size and had roofs. They were neatly arranged in the square, and cloth banners printed with the characters of Golden Pavilion were dangling on the roofs.

Next to the entrance on the left, there were all kinds of medicine pills, weapons, Qiankun pouches, water pouches…all the items that can be used in the mountain. On the right side next to the exit, was a large area with soft chairs, where the accompanying family and servants could rest. On the other hand, there were also carts selling purified water, elixir, fans, storybooks, and even handkerchiefs and flowers. Several tents were placed aside, and inside sat the Nie family’s medical practitioners.

Zhu Yicheng patted Gu Qingqiao and sighed. “Your cousin is really amazing!”

Gu Qingqiao looked at the surroundings with a wry smile, but his heart slowly became vigilant. Zhang Jinjin’s cultivation was not low and he was rich enough to rival the country. What was there in himself that was worthy of his risky investment?

The disciples of the Nie family, who were wearing red-edged gray robes, came over and gave each person who would enter the mountain a jade plaque. The jade plaque was engraved with a teleportation circle. If one wanted to withdraw halfway after entering the mountain, one only had to inject spiritual energy into it and it would automatically send the person to the exit of the back mountain. The staff of Golden Pavilion presented a piece of jade slip, saying that the jade slip would automatically record the challenger’s encounters in the mountain and display the ranking. If they were willing to sell the experiences recorded in them to the Golden Pavilion, they could exchange the jade slips for silver after going down. If there was no such intention, only the ranking will be recorded and the jade slips will be emptied in every aspect.

Although it was a competition for victory, it was not worthwhile to make enemies in the mountain, therefore the participants usually don’t make a ruthless attack and cause serious injury or death. The Lingshan Formation was gentle, only focusing on the practitioner’s heart rather than physical attacks, and the mortality rate of participants has not been high over the years. Therefore the participants were basically relaxed, and the square was full of laughter and excitement.

As the auspicious time arrived, Lingshan finally opened.

A gentle vibration swept across the square, and the spiritual energy in the air suddenly moved. The cultivators present felt their skin go numb. Then, white mist filled the air, the several hills at the entrance and exit disappeared out of thin air, and a sinister looking peak appeared half-covered with the slowly drifting fog.

The people in the square went quiet, then came Nie Yuanshan’s voice, amplified by his spiritual energy, reached everyone’s ears, “The Lingshan Mountain has opened, please proceed to enter now.”

The crowd began to walk towards the entrance, leaving behind a crowd of people waving their hands at them.

Gu Qingqiao took Mu Xiyun’s Qiankun pouch and checked it three times with his divine sense before returning it to him while also reminding him anxiously, “Don’t push yourself when you enter the mountain, don’t put yourself in danger for others, don’t be stingy in using pills in case of injury…”

Mu Xiyun didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. According to his cold personality, he would immediately ignore the other and walk away, but now, as he heard the other party’s nagging instructions, he felt a little warmth in his heart. He adjusted his steps as followed him slowly and answered obediently. “En.”

At the entrance, Zhu Yicheng rushed over, pulled the two of them, and made sure to walk with them, yet his eyes were staring straight at Luo Qingyao walking in front of them. Gu Qingqiao smiled and said, “It’s useless, in order to prevent a fight as soon as you enter the mountain, everyone would be teleported to a different place after entering the mountain. Didn’t elder Nie say that in the hall that day?”

Zhu Yicheng still insisted. “Sincerity of the heart leads to spirituality. Maybe the immortals can understand my intentions and give me a surprise during the trial!”

(t/n Sincerity of the heart leads to spirituality-idiom, it means to be single-minded with one’s heart and respectful in doing things, and then one can obtain efficaciousness. It is just like the righteousness, sincerity, and knowledge in the Book of Rites. As long as you are sincere, you will be able to achieve efficacies; as long as you have a firm belief and a correct attitude, your wishes will be realized.)

While talking and laughing, the three entered Lingshan.

The entrance was shrouded in mist. At the moment he stepped into the mist, Mu Xiyun immediately felt the clear resistance, as if he was passing through a wall of water. Everyone who entered the mountain struggled under this pressure. This was Lingshan’s judgment on the basic cultivation of every person entering the mountain.

The icy mist tried to penetrate the body one by one, and Mu Xiyun hurriedly used his spiritual energy to resist. When he made a breakthrough at the Ping County last time, his golden core had already been formed, and the bottom line of Lingshan’s discussion of Taoism was to only accept practitioners who already built a foundation, so for him, it was easy to force out the invading mist.

There was a muffled groan from a little far away, probably because someone was pushed out of the barrier due to an unstable realm.

Mu Xiyun continued to move forward, and after half a stick of incense, the pressure suddenly lightened, and he had passed through the barrier. The laughter of the two friends was still ringing in his ears, but at this moment he was all alone.

He stopped involuntarily and looked back at the fog in front of him. After a stick of incense, the boundary of the thick fog rolled from top to bottom and a layer of white light rolled over. The barrier was closed. There was no one else on this road.

He felt a little regret in his heart. Mu Xiyun smiled lightly. As expected, he was very reluctant to be apart from the recently obtained warmth.

Turning around, the fog dissipated, and the colors suddenly became brighter. In front of him was a forest path. The mountain road wound up, and there were Sycamore covered pavilions on the side of the road. The sun shone through the leaves and sprinkled tiny shining dots on the road. Breeze blew, birds sang and fragrant flowers were smelt. Mu Xiyun walked up the mountain road, thinking slowly in his heart.

Since awakening, he had been immersed in a deep self-doubt. Fifty years have passed by, and it was enough for people to experience the absurdity that while things stayed the same, the people were not. Even the familiar Moyun Mountain had changed in the past fifty years. What was the meaning of returning to this world? Mu Xiyun in his previous life firmly believed that it was his life’s mission to be a powerful immortal and save the world, but after experiencing a life-and-death catastrophe, he faintly felt that there were more important things that he had neglected.

There were a few little squirrels jumping up and down the tree just now, but suddenly their movement ceased. Mu Xiyun became vigilant, he secretly scanned the area with his divine sense to investigate.

Two people, one in the late stage of foundation building, hid behind the big tree in front to the right, however, he was unable to directly judge the cultivation base of its companion.

A masked figure clothed in red suddenly jumped out from behind the tree and started to say, “I opened this mountain…ah!”

Mu Xiyun’s sword had been unsheathed, and the person with the sword came like a bolt of lightning, intending to hit the masked man with a single blow, restrain the said stranger, and then concentrate on guarding against the other person in the forest.

The masked man exclaimed but the astonishing pressure of Mu Xiyun was approaching him. The masked man could hardly even lift his arm. With the long sword on his shoulder, he had no choice but to close his eyes and shout, “Immortal Mu, spare my life!”

Mu Xiyun became puzzled, but he did not decrease his momentum and swiftly spun around behind the masked man, restrained his shoulders with one hand, pressed the long sword against the opponent’s throat, and glanced cautiously at the woods.

It seemed that the other was leisurely walking out from the woods and the strange thing was that the other party was not worried about being discovered. The person walked slowly and his shoulders were shaking, as if … laughing?

The masked man before him spoke with difficulty, and he was careful not to stimulate the long sword beside his throat. “Master Mu, Senior Brother Mu, it’s me, I’m Zhu Yicheng!”

The person finally showed itself. It was Gu Qingqiao. At this moment, he stopped and leaned on a short tree. He bent over while laughing, and was unable to speak.

“Ah?” Mu Xiyunun immediately let go of Zhu Yicheng, sheathed his long sword, and looked at Gu Qingqiao. Mu Xiyun’s shallow cold eyes floated in a daze for a while, and he looked stupefied at the moment, which made people feel that he was very…. cute.

“Cough, cough,” Zhu Yicheng blushed, not knowing whether it was because he was restrained or because he felt embarrassed, he pulled down the cloth mask and smiled bitterly, “When I entered the mountain just now, I managed to get out of the barrier, but suddenly found myself falling from the sky…..”

“Yes, yes,” Gu Qingqiao’s ears were red and dared not look at Mu Xiyun again, he turned to Zhu Yicheng instead and said. “I already passed the barrier when I heard him screaming and falling from a tree. “

Zhu Yicheng also laughed, and said proudly. “What did I say before entering the mountain? Sincerity of the heart leads to spirituality. Brother Gu also said just now that I was right. That’s why he said to wait here and that maybe we can see you. You really came. Lingshan really heard my prayers and let us meet in the trial.”

Mu Xiyun turned his head and saw Gu Qingqiao’s smiling eyes, and there was a faint hint of warmth when their eyes met.

“Yes,” Mu Xiyun chuckled lightly, “Thank you for your prayers!”