Jade Shakes the Thousand Mountains - Chapter 16: Senior Brother, Aren't You Afraid of Being Forgotten?

Chapter 16: Senior Brother, Aren’t You Afraid of Being Forgotten?

Staring at the Jade Night Flowers crushed into the mud, Yu Chanyi furrowed her brow, gritted her teeth, and formed a mystic incantation. Suppressing her distress over the flowers, she prioritized tending to the person.

She enveloped the man’s body with her spiritual power, lifting him from the flower field and gently laying him on the ground.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a large patch of Jade Night Flowers flattened, with blood droplets splattered on the remaining intact leaves and petals. If any blood reached the stamens, the flower dew would be unusable. Hastily storing the bottle, Yu Chanyi shouted toward the Medicine Hut, “Senior Sister! There’s someone here!”

Simultaneously, she remained on guard, watching the unconscious man warily.

Hearing Yu Chanyi’s call, Wu Xi Lan hurried out. Seeing the black-clad man on the ground, her expression shifted: “Little Junior Brother!”

…So it was the Second Senior Brother, who, like their master, was often traveling afar.

Upon hearing this, Yu Chanyi relaxed her poised mystic incantation stance, momentarily stunned.

Wu Xi Lan quickly rushed back into the Medicine Hut, instructing Yu Chanyi, “Little Junior Sister, quickly, help me carry your Senior Brother inside.”

Following her lead, Yu Chanyi used her spiritual power to support the man’s body, draping his arm over her neck to compensate for their size difference, and steadily assisted him into the Medicine Hut.

Second Senior Brother was severely injured.

In the brief moment Yu Chanyi held his arm, her palm was soon coated in crimson blood, which dripped through her fingers onto the ground.

Looking back, the path they had taken was marked by a winding trail of blood. The man’s black sleeves on the bed were gradually saturated, the dark fabric spreading with fresh blood that continued to drip.

What could have caused such grievous wounds? Yu Chanyi stared at her blood-stained palm, frozen for a moment.

“Little Junior Sister, feed him a Heart-Protecting Pill,” Wu Xi Lan said grimly, tossing the pill to Yu Chanyi.

Snapping back to attention, Yu Chanyi caught the Heart-Protecting Pill she was now familiar with some of the elixirs in Wu Xi Lan’s Medicine Hut. Previously, Wu Xi Lan had told her that this pill was extremely precious, left by their master for life-saving and healing purposes, and there was only one in the hut.

Unexpectedly, Senior Brother’s injuries were so critical that the Heart-Protecting Pill was necessary.

While Wu Xi Lan prepared other medicines in the hut, Yu Chanyi hurriedly poured a cup of water, picked up the Heart-Protecting Pill, and tried to bring it to her Senior Brother’s lips.

Wu Xi Lan sat nearby, meditating to regulate her breathing.

The Heart-Protecting Pill was smooth and lustrous, radiating a dense spiritual power that seemed to seep through the skin when held between fingers.

Her Senior Brother lay on the bed, eyes tightly shut and unconscious. Yu Chanyi had to pinch his chin and force the pill into his mouth.

She resolved to use her spiritual power to compel him to swallow if necessary. But as his pale lips closed around the pill, his Adam’s apple soon moved, and he swallowed it. Yu Chanyi breathed a sigh of relief.

With the task completed, she asked Wu Xi Lan, “Will Senior Brother be alright?”

Wu Xi Lan, having finished her meditation, replied, “I don’t know. I can’t treat his wounds. I’ve stopped the bleeding and given him the Heart-Protecting Pill. The rest is up to his own fate.”

“Ah?” That serious?

“You don’t need to worry. His fate is resilient, with great fortune awaiting him.” Seeing Yu Chanyi’s troubled expression, Wu Xi Lan actually comforted her instead. “Little junior sister, you joined the sect late and aren’t familiar with sect matters. When our master first picked up your senior brother, his injuries were even worse than this.”

“Even worse?”

“Much worse. Back then, all seventy-two inches of his Spirit Veins were severed – he was just one step away from death. Yet unexpectedly, he woke up on his own after a few days.”

Even after all this time, Wu Xi Lan still felt a lingering fear. “Normally, when an ordinary cultivator’s Spirit Veins are severed, their cultivation is ruined. But somehow, he managed to recover later.”

Yu Chanyi had only opened the first inch of her seventy-two Spirit Veins and was currently working on the second. Hearing that her second senior brother had all his Spirit Veins shattered yet recovered completely, she felt profoundly shaken.

What kind of enemy would sever all seventy-two inches of her senior brother’s Spirit Veins?

At this thought, Yu Chanyi’s brow suddenly furrowed.

She remembered those people from Grand Micro Sect who were closely monitoring Inexhaustible Sect.

Could it be related to them?

Yu Chanyi tentatively asked, “Did senior brother offend some enemy? Why would he suffer such severe injuries?”

“That I don’t know. Your senior brother doesn’t like interacting with people – he won’t say anything when asked. He’s completely focused on becoming a Sword Cultivator, with no room for anyone else in his eyes. Unfortunately, he has no talent for it – he can’t even draw the most ordinary sword, completely lacking the qualifications to be a Sword Cultivator.”

Yu Chanyi was taken aback. Wanting to be a Sword Cultivator but unable to draw a sword… So there was someone in this world in the same situation she once was.

Seeing Yu Chanyi’s dazed expression, Wu Xi Lan patted her shoulder and said, “You’ll get used to it soon. Perhaps because he can’t practice swordsmanship, your senior brother takes his frustration out by constantly putting himself in dangerous situations. Every time he returns, he brings injuries that neither our master nor I can completely heal. As our master says, he’ll eventually die out there. Little junior sister, everyone has their own aspirations and destinies. Let’s focus on ourselves and not worry too much about your senior brother.”

Yu Chanyi: “…Alright.”

Since Wu Xi Lan said it was fine, then it must be fine. She wasn’t a healing cultivator and couldn’t offer much help anyway.

For the rest, they could only do their best and leave the outcome to fate.

“Then… my flowers…” Yu Chanyi suddenly looked pitifully at Wu Xi Lan, blinking her eyes with both helplessness and heartfelt pain. She said, “Senior sister, senior brother crushed all our Jade Night Flowers!”

Wu Xi Lan said, “Don’t worry, let me take a look.”

The two left the room and came to the spirit field.

Wu Xi Lan quickly restored the crushed Jade Night Flowers in the spirit field to their original state.

Watching the Jade Night Flower leaves sway freely in the wind again, Yu Chanyi finally felt considerably relieved.

She still carried the scent of blood from helping the injured person into the room. Standing in the Jade Night Flower field, it felt as if that injured body was still weighing on her.

“By the way,” Yu Chanyi asked, “Senior sister, what should I call second senior brother?”

“Ah…” Wu Xi Lan was momentarily stunned, her face showing a troubled expression as she shook her head. “Him? We don’t know his name. I always call him little junior brother. You can just call him senior brother directly – he has no name.”

“No… name?”

“None. He’s never mentioned one.”
“How could he not have a name?” Yu Chanyi was momentarily stunned, murmuring unconsciously, “Without a name, isn’t he afraid… of being forgotten?”

Wu Xi Lan said, “Someone who considers themselves nameless probably doesn’t care whether they’re remembered or not.”

“Alright, alright, little junior sister, no need to be curious about these things! Your senior brother doesn’t engage with people. When he wakes up, he might just leave directly without you getting a single word in. What I’m saying might just be nonsense anyway. In any case, we should focus on our own matters first.”

Yu Chanyi stopped asking then.

–

Wei Shengming felt as if all the blood in his body was nearly drained.

His body was icy cold, as if falling into an ice cellar. Yet it also felt like being burned by hellfire, with pain drilling deep into his bones.

Was he dying?

Just at that moment, an extremely dense surge of spiritual power entered through his lips. He held it in his mouth and swallowed. Subsequently, the dull pain that had been clogging his chest finally began to gradually dissipate, no longer aching as if his heart were being torn out.

After an unknown length of time, the mist before his eyes finally cleared.

Wei Shengming opened his eyes within his spiritual sea.

In his spiritual sea, the boundary between heaven and earth was no longer distinct. Everything was constructed by him and subject to his command.

This place was the innermost depths of his heart, the most vulnerable territory that no one could breach.

Within the spiritual sea, Wei Shengming stood upon water filled with a starry river, ripples spreading in circles beneath his feet with each step he took.

Before long, strange rocks emerged from the water’s surface. The previously calm waters of the spiritual sea suddenly rose, transforming in the blink of an eye into a cliff where green pines stood tall.

The wind on the cliff was strong, the rocks sharp and towering. He quickly positioned himself atop them.

Not far away, a slender figure in blue stood at the cliff’s edge. The howling winds made the blue figure appear as fragile as willow catkins, as if she might fall from the cliff at any moment.

Wei Shengming’s breath caught. He rushed to her side in large strides.

He opened his five fingers, revealing within his scarred palm a spirit mushroom radiating with spiritual energy.

The palm-sized mushroom bore intricate patterns, emanating a golden glow.

Wei Shengming said, “I’ve found the Spirit Nourishing Mushroom for you.”

“The Spirit Nourishing Mushroom?” the blue figure murmured, turning to face him. Yet she had no face just a blurred mass, her back appearing no different from her front. Her voice was equally hazy and indistinct, making it impossible to discern its specific tone. “Zu Continent is so dangerous. You went there anyway?”

Zu Continent was indeed dangerous. But Wei Shengming had no choice but to go.

Since Shennong’s fall, it had become a land of exile.

With demons and beasts entrenched, and venomous insects and poisonous creatures running rampant, it was a place that cultivators from the Great Ocean Ten Continents preferred to avoid.

The Spirit Nourishing Mushroom ripened only once every thousand years. For mortals, it possessed the power to revive the dead and regenerate flesh from bones. For cultivators, it was also a rare treasure.

Wei Shengming had searched for a very, very long time on Zu Continent before finally finding this one.

As if drawn by the golden Spirit Nourishing Mushroom in his hand, the blue figure slowly approached him from the cliff’s edge. After circling him a few times, she said, “You’re severely injured.”

While obtaining the Spirit Nourishing Mushroom, Wei Shengming had encountered a snake demon on his return journey.

The snake demon, coveting the Spirit Nourishing Mushroom in his possession, had pursued him across most of Zu Continent.

During their fierce battle, just a moment of distraction allowed the massive snake demon to tightly coil around him, nearly crushing his body into pulp.

The snake’s scales were as hard as sharp blades, slicing countless wounds across his body from which blood gushed forth.

He broke free from the serpent demon’s restraints, killed it, and then, due to his frequent mental confusion, was poisoned by a Bitter Heart Grass.

Along the way, he stumbled and staggered, narrowly escaping death multiple times, enduring immense suffering but none of it mattered. In the end, he had brought back the Spirit Nourishing Mushroom.

Wei Shengming said, “Superficial wounds will heal in time.”

He extended the Spirit Nourishing Mushroom forward, gesturing for Qingying to take it. “Take a look.”

Qingying lowered her head, picked up the Spirit Nourishing Mushroom he offered, examined it for a moment, and then suddenly flung it off the cliff with a sweep of her hand.

She threw her head back and laughed heartily, utterly delighted, her tone both regretful and light as she said, “Wei Shengming, oh Wei Shengming, do you really think this one Spirit Nourishing Mushroom can save me? I’ve been dead for a full thousand years! Not a trace of my physical body remains!”

“Give up on this foolish hope!” With that, she leaped off the cliff without hesitation.

Wei Shengming’s face abruptly changed. He reached out, trying to grab the hem of Qingying’s robe, but it was futile. Once again, he threw himself after her over the cliff.

No matter how fast he moved or how hard he tried, it was all in vain. He could only watch as Qingying’s already fragile form was torn apart by the mountain winds, instantly scattering into nothingness like smoke.

The forest of stones and the cliff vanished, restoring the star-filled water surface from the beginning.

His body crashed heavily onto the sea of consciousness, a sharp, throbbing pain in his heart as if countless ants were gnawing at him, leaving him too disheveled to rise.

Wei Shengming endured the pain with a contorted expression, the veins at his temples pulsing violently.

In the end, unable to withstand the heart-wrenching, bone-deep agony, he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

Simultaneously, he opened his eyes.

Instinctively, he wiped the blood from the corner of his lips, his expression as calm as still water, utterly indifferent, as if he had long grown accustomed to the pain his body endured.

Wei Shengming lifted his gaze to survey his surroundings.

This was the Inexhaustible Sect.

He had returned from Ancestral Continent.

Wei Shengming lowered his eyes, all that had happened flooding his mind. Realizing something, he unfastened his collar and looked down at his chest.

On his deathly pale chest, those sinister crimson-tinged patterns had long spread like a spiderweb, winding their way toward his heart, clawing like the aggressive roots of a sturdy tree, as if trying to bore into his very core.

Today, the dark crimson patterns had spread even more fiercely, creeping past his collar and onto his neck, just barely visible.

Wei Shengming couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh. He tilted his head, leaning against the bed and closing his eyes for a moment, then took out the Spirit Nourishing Mushroom.

The Spirit Nourishing Mushroom was still brimming with spiritual energy a divine herb capable of reviving the dead and regenerating flesh and bone.

But it was useless, utterly useless.

Wei Shengming’s eyes were shadowed with gloom as he gazed at the Spirit Nourishing Mushroom, his expression so calm it didn’t even register as disappointment. He rose from the bed, pushed the door open, and stepped outside.

Now a nominal disciple of the Inexhaustible Sect, he had nowhere else to go and relied on the sect leader’s hospitality. Since the Spirit Nourishing Mushroom was of no use to him, he would leave it for the senior medical sister here to refine into pills.

Outside, the sky was already bright.

Wei Shengming stepped out of the room and stood in the clear daylight, pausing for a moment. Feeling the same turmoil in his heart as he had throughout the long millennium, his eyes held neither sorrow nor joy only a lifeless pallor, his face detached and serene, utterly devoid of the vitality of a living person.
Hearing faint rustling sounds from the spirit field and recognizing the noises of watering and footsteps, Wei Shengming walked toward the field while holding the Spirit Nourishing Mushroom. Yet as he approached, his steps gradually slowed to a halt.

There stood a figure clad in black, shadow-like amidst the spirit field. Their silhouette appeared translucent and hazy under the brilliant daylight, graceful and indistinct.

The breeze gently lifted the hem of their garment. Facing their back, it resembled neither Wu Xi Lan nor the sect master of the Inexhaustible Sect.