Heaven’s Shadow

Before that day, Lu Chen had never known about this strange and mysterious place within Kunlun Mountain. Sometimes, when he thought about it, he found the Yizhong Cemetery to be a very eerie place. It seemed out of place for such a prestigious sect like Kunlun to have something so mundane, yet it existed, and appeared to have a long history.

Lu Chen had never heard anyone mention anything about the Yizhong Cemetery. It seemed as though everyone ignored it, much like the shadowy gloom that always surrounded the area. It was as if the cemetery had always been outside of people’s awareness.

People didn’t know about it, but it had always existed.

This kind of situation is not uncommon in the world. There are many things and people we’ve never seen or heard of, so we think they don’t exist or aren’t possible. Even when we occasionally discover something, we always use our imagination to speculate about its nature.

Lu Chen, of course, wasn’t like this. Compared to most cultivators in the cultivation world, his current cultivation level might be low, but his experience and insight had grown considerably from encountering many people and events. He understood this principle well.

He was indeed surprised by the sudden appearance of the Yizhong Cemetery, but instead of making guesses, he knew he needed to investigate thoroughly. When something seems unusual, it warrants investigation. The cemetery’s presence in Kunlun Mountain seemed too odd and abrupt. However, even with his suspicions, he might not have risked visiting it if it were just a place for unclaimed corpses.

The main reason he sneaked into the nameless peak that night was that he had seen He Yi come there.

He Yi, nowadays, was like a poisonous snake hidden in the shadows, coldly and diligently searching for the killer’s whereabouts. If he came to the Yizhong Cemetery, he must have discovered something there.

What exactly did He Yi find in the Yizhong Cemetery?

Lu Chen was determined to find out. A shadow’s patience is indisputable, but no one can question a shadow’s resolve.

Just like in the Battle of the Desolate Valley ten years ago, no one had given any orders, no one had told him what to do, but at that critical moment, he acted decisively.

As he moved swiftly through the darkness, for some reason—perhaps because the night wind was too cold—he suddenly felt a chill in his chest.

It’s been ten years since he last saw her, hasn’t it…?

As time passed, her once-beautiful face seemed to fade in his memory, just like all the memories of the world. The only thing that remained clear and engraved in his heart was her name.

※※※

The curfew in Kunlun Sect was an ancient rule, its duration unknown. It had existed since the time everyone, including the Nascent Soul True Immortals, first set foot on Kunlun Mountain.

Perhaps, it was established by the founders, Kun Yuanzi and Tie Luo?

But what was the purpose of this curfew rule?

Lu Chen didn’t know. In fact, during his time on Kunlun Mountain, he had sneaked out of his house several times in the dead of night, moving stealthily through the darkness.

For this reason, he found the curfew on Kunlun Mountain particularly puzzling.

Every time he sneaked out at night, there were no thieves or sneaky figures in any of the places he passed. Everyone had great respect for Kunlun Sect. He walked those lonely mountain paths many times.

But nothing ever happened, and there were no strange or incomprehensible occurrences.

The nights in Kunlun Mountain were no different from nights elsewhere. Perhaps the patrolling disciples had some peculiarities?

If so, wouldn’t the curfew rule be the most foolish thing?

Yet, generations of Kunlun disciples continued to pass down this rule. Lu Chen found it hard to understand but kept his thoughts to himself, imagining that in the era of the two founding ancestors, strange beings would emerge from Kunlun Mountain at night, threatening the disciples’ lives.

But now, thousands of years later, those dangers seemed to have vanished.

Or perhaps they had merely been sealed away, suppressed in the most mysterious, heaviest, and most secure part of Kunlun Mountain.

As Lu Chen sneaked through the darkness, he suddenly stopped abruptly. Standing in the shadows, he frowned as if deep in thought. After a while, he turned to look into the distance, toward the deepest part of the Kunlun Mountain range.

There lay a legendary forbidden area, the foundation of Kunlun Sect, which even Nascent Soul True Immortals couldn’t easily approach. The only ones who could access that dark area were the two supremely powerful Divine Transformation True Immortals.

Lu Chen’s eyes gradually brightened.

For a long time, everyone had been speculating about what was inside the forbidden area in the Heavenly Dome Cloud. This time, it seemed that Lu Chen had also thought about this point.

Lu Chen had never known what the Demonic Sect spy was interested in within the Kunlun Sect, making it difficult to track down this person. But at this moment, he suddenly had a feeling that the spy was after some secret, and the greatest secret in Kunlun Mountain must be something within that forbidden area, right?

※※※

The road must be walked step by step, food must be eaten bite by bite. Even with new suspicions, Lu Chen still dutifully returned to the Yizhong Cemetery.

There was a powerful corpse watcher here. During the day, Lu Chen had sensed this person’s formidable cultivation, almost catching him. He Yi insisted on coming to this unpleasant place, likely to obtain some information from the corpse watcher.

In the night, the Yizhong Cemetery seemed even darker than during the day, to the point where it felt like one couldn’t see their hand in front of their face.

The black courtyard resembled a giant beast, silently lying in this boundless darkness.

Lu Chen waited in the darkness for a long time, then slowly approached. But until he was near the tightly shut gate, there was no movement from the black courtyard.

Just as Lu Chen was hesitating whether to investigate further, a sudden cold wind blew, and the black gate ahead of him suddenly opened on its own.

A candlelight lit up; the withered corpse watcher appeared by the gate, holding a candle in his left hand.

By the candlelight, Lu Chen could clearly see the man’s expression. He seemed indifferent, not intending to speak with anyone. After looking around, he calmly said, “Honored guest, please reveal yourself. If there’s nothing else, I’ll go back to sleep.”

Lu Chen quietly observed the corpse watcher, remaining hidden in the darkness, silent and even holding his breath.

The corpse watcher waited for a moment longer, then indeed turned and walked back into the courtyard. The black gate closed with a creak behind him.

Lu Chen looked down at himself, not finding anything unusual. He couldn’t figure out why he had been almost caught twice by the corpse watcher, who seemed to sense something wrong but couldn’t pinpoint the intruder, making it awkward.

Should he go in now?

※※※

He stood outside the Yizhong Cemetery in the darkness for an hour, not daring to go forward. He just looked up, surveying the majestic peaks and the terrain. Before the second hour arrived, he suddenly turned and left.

It was still pitch black, but technically a new day had begun.

There were twenty days left until the next full moon.

Lu Chen silently left the Yizhong area, unaware that after he left, the corpse watcher didn’t go to sleep as he had said. Instead, he stood alone in the courtyard, seemingly listening intently. Only after Lu Chen had left did the corpse watcher relax.

He looked up at the sky and suddenly muttered to himself, “Kunlun Sect has produced quite a few geniuses in recent years. Their future prospects are truly limitless.”

Lu Chen hurried through the night, planning to return to Feiyan Platform before dawn. Though it was unlikely that Su Qingjun would come out to patrol early in the morning—she had a peculiar and amusing habit of loving to sleep.

The night Su Qingjun was seriously injured, Lu Chen had entered her cave once. Although he never admitted it, saying he had never been inside, he did see some things he shouldn’t have.

Su Qingjun seemed to have a split personality; she was dignified and beautiful in front of others but surprisingly lazy in private. Lu Chen clearly remembered seeing Su Qingjun’s bed in her cave that night—everything was clean and tidy.

Except the quilt wasn’t folded.

Thinking about this made him chuckle inwardly, though Su Qingjun had probably warned him, so he never spoke of it. Sometimes, he still found it funny, wondering if Su Qingjun could avoid her future husband’s notice if she ever got married.

The night wind blew cold as he walked briskly along the mountain path.

Suddenly, a strange sound came from the darkness somewhere. It sounded like a beast smacking its lips or a hungry wolf drooling with hunger.

Lu Chen abruptly stopped.

In the darkness ahead, in what seemed like the peaceful and quiet Kunlun Mountain night of thousands of years, three green flames appeared in a triangular formation, like a head with three eyes, eerily appearing before him. (To be continued.)