Chapter Seventy-Seven: Waiting for You There

Within the pavilion, the Grand Elder’s robe sleeves fluttered, his hair danced in the wind, and his fingers formed a sword as a clear radiance flickered between his palm and fingertips. According to his reasoning, the slumber of Yuyang’s remnant will was likely due to a lack of spiritual power, which would be restored during this dormant state.

Tiny threads of spiritual energy shimmered at the Grand Elder’s fingertips, entering the black little sword—his intention was to infuse power into Yuyang’s sleeping consciousness.

Suddenly, the little sword gave a slight tremor, suspended in midair, and an overwhelming aura burst forth. In the next instant, searing flames surged from the sword’s body.

Chu Feng’s face was full of shock, utterly unable to believe his eyes; in that moment, it was as though he sensed something profound.

But there was no time to ponder further. In a split second, Chu Feng was assaulted by a violent force, as if struck by a raging storm, sending him flying heavily across the air.

The change happened so swiftly that even the Grand Elder was caught off guard. Blazing flames erupted, and in an instant, the pavilion was reduced to ashes.

Standing within the inferno, the Grand Elder remained unharmed. Yet he reacted at once, sweeping out his hand to cast a luminous barrier, confining the raging fire within a radius of thirty feet and preventing it from spreading.

Without delay, the Grand Elder stepped through the barrier and approached Chu Feng.

Chu Feng now lay unconscious on open ground, ten yards away. It was clear he had suffered a tremendous shock in that brief instant.

In truth, Chu Feng was neither hurt by the sword nor by the Grand Elder. Rather, when the sword’s power surged and the Grand Elder faced its might, he sensed no danger, but his body still reacted instinctively with a passive defense. The collision of their powers created a shockwave so great that it flung Chu Feng away.

Upon reaching his side, the Grand Elder quickly examined Chu Feng, finding that though he was unconscious, it was due to the severe jolt rather than any mortal wound.

A silent sigh of relief escaped the Grand Elder. With a wave of his hand, he sent gentle streams of purified spiritual power into Chu Feng’s body, calming his surging blood and restoring his constitution.

At this moment, Chu Feng’s mind drifted in a haze, as if he were floating between heaven and earth.

Vaguely, his consciousness grew clearer, and without realizing it, an unfamiliar yet strangely familiar scene played out within his mind.

Beneath a mountain peak, there stood a great city.

Ancient Qilin City! Indeed, that was Ancient Qilin City.

Yet the heart of this memory was not the city itself, but a spot beneath a phoenix tree outside its walls.

On the grass under the tree sat two figures. Witnessing this, Chu Feng was utterly stunned, longing to cry out, but he could only observe the unfolding images, unable to make a sound.

One was a young man, dressed in coarse linen, but no humble garb could conceal the heroic spirit that radiated from him. That man was none other than Yuyang.

The other was a small child of about two years. At a glance, Chu Feng recognized himself as that very boy.

At this instant, Chu Feng sensed something within—a realization that these were events from the blank stretches of his memory, somehow replayed in a dream.

Yuyang sat casually on the grass, the child facing him. Yuyang’s gaze was complex, as if weighed by deep thoughts.

With a helpless sigh, he patted the child’s head and said, “Should you set foot on that path, darkness may be all that awaits, and each step will be a struggle. Yet since fate has brought you before me, perhaps this is your destiny. Still, you won’t walk this road alone—I’ll be waiting for you there. And he will always be by your side.”

The child seemed not to understand, merely gazing at Yuyang with innocent curiosity and a bright, pure smile.

Just then, a childish voice called out, “Brother Chu Feng, come here! There’s a red dragonfly!”

It was a boy’s voice, brimming with excitement. Little Chu Feng’s smile grew even brighter as he turned toward the boy, whose face was lit with untainted joy as he waved him over.

The vision froze at that very moment, then blurred and abruptly faded.

Chu Feng’s eyes opened. He found himself lying upon a light-filled barrier, with the Grand Elder standing at his side.

“Grand Elder,” Chu Feng called, knowing he must have fainted after being thrown back.

“How do you feel? It was my carelessness just now,” the Grand Elder sighed.

“I’m fine,” Chu Feng shook his head, rising to his feet. “Did Senior Yuyang’s remnant will awaken?”

The Grand Elder pointed to where the pavilion had stood and shook his head. “I thought his will was merely lacking spiritual power, but that’s not the case. He set a profound restriction upon it—it was prepared especially for you. Any outsider who tries to touch it will only awaken the sword’s power. Unless you meet the requirements, that remnant will shall not awaken again.”

Xiao Yue glanced toward the ruined remains of the pavilion; the thirty-foot area was now nothing but devastation.

Chu Feng’s heart trembled. He asked tentatively, “The sword’s power? Ancient Qilin City?”

The Grand Elder nodded, waving his hand, and the black sword appeared in his palm. “It seems you’ve sensed it as well. It was this very sword that incinerated the demon beast horde and kept you alive through that blood-soaked calamity.”

Chu Feng was dumbstruck. Only now did he truly understand the terrifying power of the little sword that had hung around his neck for more than a decade.

He inquired about its origins, but the Grand Elder could give no clear answer; such a spiritual weapon had never appeared in the annals of humanity.

However, from what the Grand Elder could tell, the sword was extraordinary and likely came from Yuyang, rather than being a keepsake from Chu Feng’s parents as he had believed.

Moreover, the Grand Elder sensed a familiar force emanating from the sword, but refrained from probing further. Forcibly investigating might not even reveal its secrets, and damaging Yuyang’s remnant will would be a loss too great to risk.

“Continue your cultivation—you will meet again in time,” the Grand Elder said, returning the black sword to Chu Feng.

In truth, Chu Feng wanted to ask about the crack on the sword, but as it involved Xuan Yue Valley and could endanger Xiao Jin, he restrained himself.

Instead, he recounted the scene from his dream and repeated Yuyang’s words to the Grand Elder.

The appearance of this memory fragment was likely connected to the recent shock, but neither of them had time to ponder the cause. They were far more concerned about the vision itself. The more they thought, the more shaken they became—especially the Grand Elder, whose expression was graver than ever before.

Though brief, the memory revealed much.

Firstly, after the earth-shattering battle fifteen years ago, Yuyang had come to Ancient Qilin City and seemed to have lived with Chu Feng for some time. How long this lasted was impossible to tell from that fleeting scene.

Yuyang’s words hinted at his fate after he vanished—it was connected to a certain path, and his guidance for Chu Feng was also bound to that path.

What had Yuyang discovered? What was he planning? What kind of path lay ahead, and why did he call it a path of darkness? Where was the “there” that Yuyang spoke of—had he already reached it?

Behind those words were too many secrets and endless peril, and even Yuyang himself might not have faced all those dangers with composure.

Despite all their pondering, neither Chu Feng nor the Grand Elder could find answers—perhaps only Yuyang himself knew the truth.

But Chu Feng had been entrusted with hope; to walk that road shrouded in darkness was now his destiny.

Yuyang had mentioned “him”—both Chu Feng and the Grand Elder believed this must be the child who called out to Chu Feng at the end. This only deepened their confusion.

Who was that child? Yuyang said he would always accompany Chu Feng, yet in Chu Feng’s life over the past decade, there had been no such boy—only Long Yue.

But Chu Feng could not believe it was Long Yue, for that child was clearly a boy.

Gradually, Chu Feng began to understand why he felt an inexplicable trust toward Yuyang—it must have been the result of their early years together.

A sense of confusion gripped Chu Feng as never before. It seemed that, before living with Long Yue, his earliest life was filled with strange and extraordinary events. Why did “he” no longer exist? Was the emptiness in his early memories due to the absence of that companion?

“It seems things did not proceed as Yuyang had planned,” the Grand Elder sighed, feeling helpless, for now he had no idea what to do. “On the path of cultivation, he has already traveled too far.”

Chu Feng fell into a daze, having learned things he never expected. A sense of loss welled in his heart, as though he had once possessed something precious, now gone—would he ever find it again?

The Grand Elder sighed inwardly. He couldn’t guess Yuyang’s intentions, but to let a child bear such a burden was truly too much.

“Clearly, Yuyang left at some point. How he departed, where he went, and what became of the other child—these are things we cannot know now.” The Grand Elder patted Chu Feng’s shoulder. “Don’t trouble yourself with too many thoughts. In time, your lost memories will return. Since he set you on the martial path, keep moving forward—perhaps one day you will meet again, and then all will be revealed. We will always support you.”

“Thank you, Grand Elder.” Chu Feng nodded deeply, his heart so moved that he nearly wept, yet he restrained himself, for his resolve remained firm, his dedication to the martial path unshaken.

Chu Feng took his leave of the Grand Elder and departed the Celestial Treasure Pavilion.

Watching Chu Feng’s retreating figure, the Grand Elder’s thoughts churned with emotion. At last, he gazed up at the sky and murmured, “Where could ‘there’ be? Have you already touched the taboos of heaven and earth?”