Heaven’s Shadow

No matter what, Lu Chen and the black dog A-Tu had now settled temporarily on the Flying Goose Platform. Compared to his previous hard work as a miscellaneous disciple in the Hundred Herbs Hall, this was certainly much more comfortable, with the protection of a Golden Core cultivator making life easier.

Since Lu Chen no longer had to work daily in the Flowing Fragrance Garden, life had become quite leisurely. He had more time to focus on his own tasks. After his injuries healed, he began cutting timber in the dense forest behind the Flying Goose Platform to build the wooden house he had mentioned earlier.

The wooden house was certainly more comfortable than the thatched hut. The forest was vast, with countless trees, and Su Qingjun was not stingy about such things. However, she had never seen anyone chop wood and build a house by themselves, so she often watched Lu Chen work with curiosity.

It took Lu Chen four or five days to complete the house. Although he was in good spirits, Su Qingjun shook her head, saying that while the wood was good, the house itself looked quite ugly.

Having the title of a nominal disciple and residing on the Flying Goose Platform, Lu Chen could not remain idle and carefree. It was not good to be idle, so he resumed his old job and began to clear and expand the spiritual field on the Flying Goose Platform. Su Qingjun provided some spiritual herb and fruit seeds to plant in the field. From then on, Lu Chen officially became a “hard laborer” working the land under the Golden Core cultivator Su Qingjun.

Such individuals were quite common in the Kunlun Sect. Although fundamentally they were still miscellaneous disciples, having a backing meant that it sounded much better to say you were a disciple of a certain Golden Core or Nascent Soul cultivator rather than just a miscellaneous disciple of Kunlun. Moreover, working for high-level cultivators often came with better rewards, so many people eagerly sought such positions.

The reason so many people were eager to participate in the Eagle Fruit cultivation competition in the Flowing Fragrance Garden was to have a chance to be noticed by Su Qingjun, aiming for a situation like Lu Chen’s.

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With this treatment, Lu Chen had more leisure time compared to before. The spiritual herbs and fruits planted in the field were not as delicate as the Eagle Fruit trees he had dealt with before. As for Su Qingjun, she was relatively polite and did not truly exploit him, so life was still relatively relaxed.

Thus, Lu Chen now had time to wander around Kunlun Mountain. Recently, many people in the Kunlun Sect had seen Lu Chen walking around with the black dog, A-Tu, leisurely, which elicited envy from many miscellaneous disciples.

One day, Lu Chen took A-Tu down from the Flying Goose Platform for a casual stroll, eventually arriving at the house near the Flowing Fragrance Garden where someone had died.

He Zhengsheng had died in that house.

It was daytime, and most of the residents in the area were low-level miscellaneous disciples who worked in the Flowing Fragrance Garden daily, so the surroundings were quiet with few people around. When the incident occurred, Kunlun Sect had sealed off the area, but after a long investigation with no results, the guards had been withdrawn. The area now seemed as if it had returned to normal, except for the house, which remained unoccupied.

The traces of He Zhengsheng’s presence in this world were quickly and thoroughly fading away.

A gentle breeze blew from the forest, and Lu Chen and A-Tu stood quietly in the distance, watching the house in silence, like two dark shadows.

After a while, Lu Chen turned and walked away from the house, heading into the expansive forest on the other side. A-Tu followed him in.

The daytime forest was somewhat dimmer than outside, but light filtering through the gaps in the leaves made the forest appear relatively bright, allowing him to see the surrounding trees. Lu Chen walked calmly through the forest, and as he went deeper, the surroundings quickly grew quiet.

The bustling and noisy world of Kunlun Sect seemed to be isolated outside the forest; here, only silence remained.

After walking for a while, he arrived at the spot he had previously stared at late at night.

In the pitch-black night, the deep corner of the forest had been completely submerged in darkness, but now, during the day, Lu Chen could see that it was actually a large tree.

A very large and dense tree, older than the surrounding trees.

Its mottled bark was covered in moss, and some morning dew still lingered on its branches and leaves. The sturdy roots bulged from the ground, looking like giant claws firmly gripping the earth.

Lu Chen stared at the tree for a while before walking over to it.

The forest remained silent, with no wind or bird calls. The only sound seemed to be his footsteps crunching on the dry leaves on the ground.

The trunk of the tree was very thick and large, requiring at least two people to embrace it. It was big enough to hide a person seeking shelter. However, on this morning, when Lu Chen crossed over the tree’s winding roots and reached the back of the tree, it was empty.

A-Tu ran over and sniffed around the base of the tree. Finding nothing of particular interest, the dog wandered off to play.

Lu Chen continued to observe the tree quietly, his eyes bright and focused. He carefully examined the tree from its roots to its trunk, seemingly searching for something.

Yet, there were no unusual signs on the tree. There were no wounds, scratches, or hidden, twisted patterns. Everything seemed to be without result.

Frowning slightly, Lu Chen pondered for a moment, then squatted down and began to search meticulously among the gnarled roots of the tree. He even used his hands to clear away the fallen leaves and black soil, inspecting every hidden corner of the roots.

In the end, he found nothing.

The spy from the demon sect hiding in the darkness seemed to possess unusual patience and vigilance. Had he not been affected by this?

Lu Chen stood up, his expression solemn. After a moment of contemplation, he called out to A-Tu and then turned to leave.

A beam of sunlight fell from the overhead branches, shining on him and the silent, ancient tree. The mottled marks on the tree seemed to have weathered countless years.

As Lu Chen continued walking, he suddenly stopped on his fifth step. He furrowed his brows, as if he had remembered something. After a moment, his eyes brightened, and he abruptly turned around, staring intently at the front of the tree, where the ancient and weathered marks on the trunk were.

Sunlight illuminated the tree, revealing cracks in the bark, possibly due to the passage of too much time.

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Even during the day, the back of the nameless mountain’s unmarked grave was still shrouded in darkness and shadows. The eerie chill here seemed to persist year-round, emanating a rare and sinister aura from this famous mountain.

Few people usually came here. Most people, including cultivators, preferred a life of light. Even the stone wall caves used for cultivation were generally located in sunnier places.

However, today, a tall figure walked up to the dark door of the unmarked grave.

Dongfang Tao, who had recently achieved the Nascent Soul stage, arrived at this grim and shadowy place. There was no one around him, indicating he had come alone. As the ghostly wind blew from an unknown corner, his expression remained indifferent, with only a deep-seated disdain visible in his eyes.

The black door creaked open.

In the dark courtyard, the shadowy rooms stood silently around. Some were completely dark, while others flickered with dim candlelight, as if guiding lost souls on a dark path. Occasionally, when the wind blew, the flickering candle flames turned green, like the eyes of malevolent spirits, before gradually returning to their original state.

A withered, shriveled figure, shrouded in darkness, stood alone in the center of the courtyard. The cold, eerie eyes emitted a chilling light as they fixed on Dongfang Tao.

Dongfang Tao first glanced around, his eyes lingering on the dark rooms and the flickering candles before finally settling on the figure of the corpse-watcher. He nodded and said, “Long time no see.”

The corpse-watcher smiled faintly and said, “Yes, you always refuse to come here to see me. It has indeed been a long time.”

Dongfang Tao’s expression remained unchanged as he said lightly, “This ghostly place is filled with dark energy. No one likes to come here.”

The corpse-watcher’s eyes turned cold, and his voice rose slightly, “But thanks to you, I’ve been stuck here for thirty-four years!”

Dongfang Tao frowned and said, “Stop the nonsense. What’s the urgent matter that you had someone send word for me to come here?” After a pause, he snorted and added, “And if you need to send someone to pass on a message, don’t use He Yi. I don’t like him.”

The corpse-watcher did not answer immediately but looked Dongfang Tao up and down before sneering, “So you’ve become a Nascent Soul now and think yourself quite important? Does that mean I can’t even summon you in the future?”

Dongfang Tao’s face showed a hint of impatience. “Just say what you need to say. Don’t bring up old grievances. And let me repeat,” he stared at the corpse-watcher, his voice growing colder, “Don’t blame me for your current situation. It’s all your own doing, junior brother!”