Chapter Thirty-Nine: Worlds Apart

Spring passed and autumn came; in the course of Ye Yun's life, it seemed there was nothing but cultivation—always cultivation, and nothing more.

He had but one purpose: to kill Ye Peng three years from now, to allow none who threatened the lives of his parents or kin to remain in this world.

Every night, he lay on the beam beneath the roof and gazed at the starry sky, yearning to know where his master had gone, longing deeply for him…

Now he knew his master's true identity. As a legendary figure who had lived at least seven centuries, the Grand Ancestor Ye Yu's cultivation had long surpassed the Nascent Soul stage by an immeasurable margin.

"Master once said, 'A small pond cannot nourish a great dragon. Yunshui City is too small, so Master left…'" This was what Ye Yun believed in his heart.

For a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage, the path of immortal cultivation had only just begun, yet it was an incomparably crucial threshold. Throughout the Ye clan of Yunshui City, there were many elders at the Foundation Establishment stage, but those who could take another step forward and achieve the Golden Core stage were exceedingly rare.

Through his study of the Crimson Flame Devil Art, Ye Yun understood well that the reason for this lay in an unsteady foundation.

The more solid the foundation, the higher the structure one could build. If the foundation were unstable, the edifice might collapse before even the first floor was complete.

Thus, Ye Yun was acutely aware of the importance of a solid base and was in no hurry to break through.

Another month passed, and Yunshui City was again abuzz with joy: Ye Qian had also broken through, becoming the second Foundation Establishment cultivator among the younger generation.

Although Ye Peng left a poor impression on many clan elders, they had to admit that his union with Ye Qian was a match made in heaven, envied by countless others.

For two months, the elders watched Ye Yun's progress closely, only to find his cultivation remained at the peak of the Qi Refinement stage, unable to break through to Foundation Establishment.

Though not yet at Foundation Establishment, he was already stronger than those newly arrived at that stage; yet, without breaking through, his future achievements would be limited. Perhaps Ye Peng was not his match now, but if Ye Peng reached mid-Foundation Establishment in three years, Ye Yun would be left far behind.

But the clan elders did not know that, though Ye Yun had not broken through, he had never slackened in his training. His foundation had grown deeper and sturdier, his strength increasing substantially.

Most cultivators, upon reaching the threshold for Foundation Establishment, would use Foundation Establishment Pills to break through in one leap.

But Ye Yun cultivated both martial and magical arts. His Crimson Flame inner energy had long reached the pinnacle of Qi Refinement, unable to grow further. He had even birthed a wisp of Crimson Flame Essence, and could break through at any time.

The reason he held back was to temper his physical foundation!

The Dao of magic built its foundation in the dantian; martial arts in the body. To cultivate both, neither the body nor the dantian could be neglected!

The Sunset Mountains harbored many monsters, but powerful beasts at the Foundation Establishment level were rare. The Azure-Feathered Firebird was among the mightiest. Each day, Ye Yun would venture into the forest, seeking its trail, provoking it with archery, and engaging in life-or-death combat.

Each time, he emerged battered and bruised, yet always managed to escape the Firebird's deadly talons. Such tempering could not help but yield progress.

Crimson Flame Essence was a force of the world itself, even surpassing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Tempering his body with it caused the power of his Crimson Flame Devil Body to grow daily.

Beyond the crucible of combat, each day Ye Yun would grasp the relic bead and breathe in the spiritual essence from the marrow of heaven and earth, cultivating so that, under the tempering of Crimson Flame Essence, his body grew ever stronger. Under inner vision, his spiritual sense could even see faint patterns flickering on his bones.

These were Crimson Flame Devil Marks.

To begin cultivating the Crimson Flame Devil Art, one must first condense a Devil Mark at the brow; in cultivating the Devil Body, one must brand these marks across the bones.

Now, the patterns upon his bones were still vague; when they became clear, it would mean his Devil Body had reached minor completion!

"More than two months have passed. My Crimson Flame Devil Body is at last nearing minor completion. With this, my foundation in the Qi Refinement stage will be perfected, and it will be time to break through to Foundation Establishment."

Ye Yun was full of emotion. The achievements and knowledge he possessed today were all thanks to his master Ye Yu’s guidance over the years.

The Crimson Flame Essence scoured his muscles, bones, and flesh. His bones were now as hard as inferior magical artifacts. Once the Devil Body reached minor completion, he would be able to withstand low-grade magical treasures with his bare hands.

These days, Ye Zili watched his son leave early and return late, his heart aching with worry.

He knew his son was out training. Sometimes Ye Yun returned late; sometimes he was gone for a day or two.

How could parents not worry when their child was away? In the world outside, powerful monsters prowled, claws and fangs deadly; one day, perhaps, his son might leave and never return.

“They say the Lord of the City has decreed a duel in three years. When the time comes, Yun’er will fight Ye Peng to the death.” Whenever Liu Shuyun thought of this, her brow would furrow. These days, scarcely a smile could be seen on her face, only worry and sorrow.

“To be born into such a family—is it not the bitterest irony?” Ye Zili forced a smile, his heart heavy. Simply because he and his second brother lacked talent for cultivation, their parents had neglected them from childhood, and they had suffered countless hardships.

Their younger brother, born of the same mother, cared nothing for the bonds of blood, instead drawing his blade against kin. As an uncle, he wished to kill his own nephew.

“What is Ye Peng, after all? He is merely someone whom Heaven has blessed with a little talent. Compared to Yun’er, he is not even fit to be dust on Yun’er’s heel!” Ye Zili said this as though full of confidence in Ye Yun, but inwardly he was racked with worry for his son’s safety.

…

“The further I go with these Devil Marks, the harder they are to refine.”

In the blink of an eye, half a year went by. Two and a half years remained until the appointed duel—a sixth of the time had passed—and Ye Yun was still at the peak of Qi Refinement, yet to break through to Foundation Establishment.

He had thought refining the Crimson Flame Devil Marks would be simple, but to engrave them across all his bones was no easy task—it was a vast undertaking.

Such was the Crimson Flame Devil Art: it began at a high level, making one peerlessly powerful at each stage, but demanded immense time and effort to master.

That night, as always, Ye Yun sat atop the roof, gazing at the stars. A graceful figure appeared outside the courtyard, clad in white purer than snow, exuding unmatched poise.

Gone was her former passionate attire; now, Ye Qian’s face was clouded with worry, her expression pale—though she was now a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Ye Yun sat with his back to her, while she simply stood and gazed silently at his figure, not wishing to disturb his peace.

“You two do not belong to the same world, foolish child. One day, you will regret the choice you have made.”

On the eve of her wedding, she had decided to marry Ye Peng. Her master, Ye Min, who had not emerged in twenty years, spoke these words.

She had not understood at the time. The reason she married Ye Peng was to gain access to profound cultivation methods, for when the lord of the city himself had proposed the match, he had promised that, if married, she would be qualified to study the Ye clan’s highest techniques.

Why do cultivators pursue the path of cultivation? In the end, is it not for transcendence, for status, to live better and longer lives?

A mortal’s life was but a hundred years. To become a Foundation Establishment cultivator was to gain a hundred and fifty years of life. To reach Golden Core would mean another great increase—to two hundred years.

Ye Qian admitted she was selfish. For the sake of her own future, she had not chosen Ye Yun, with whom she had feelings, but Ye Peng, who could grant her the advanced techniques she needed.

She did not think she had chosen wrongly; she had simply chosen what she needed most.

Yet what she did not know was that the so-called highest techniques of the Ye clan were merely legacies left by the Grand Ancestor. As the disciple of the Grand Ancestor, how could Ye Yun lack access to such profound methods?

Thus, Elder Ye Min had called her foolish, yet had not told her the truth, leaving her to choose her own path.

Now she had become a Foundation Establishment cultivator, transcending the ordinary, with a life span of a hundred and fifty years. But Ye Yun remained at the peak of Qi Refinement—if he could not break through, he would not live much beyond a mortal’s years.

Truly, they were not of the same world. She believed herself standing high above, looking down on Ye Yun; little did she know, what she and Ye Peng looked down on was only a shadow of Ye Yun…