Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 387 - 387 386 Waiting for Good News

387: Chapter 386: Waiting for Good News 387: Chapter 386: Waiting for Good News Hou Niao was noncommittal, “I have no right to punish on behalf of Tianxing, and the rights and wrongs within the Cultivation World are not as simple as black and white.

Listening to your words, it sounds as though although we were misguided into this scheme, our mistakes were not entirely misguided, and were somewhat close to the goals you hoped to achieve?

Therefore, you just let the outside world fight to the death while you yourself easily ascended to the Upper Realm?

This level of resolve is truly admirable; I admire, I admire.”

Lady Zhu chuckled, “It was all my planning, but if they had no desires, my schemes would be useless.

I take responsibility for the casualties of the tour group, and the destruction of the Cang Pirates was also my ardent effort, and I have nothing to hide.

Whatever I have done, I acknowledge it.”

Hou Niao was silent for a long while, “But was it really necessary to doom the Pirate Group to death when you formed your Core?”

Lady Zhu’s expression was cold, “One must cut ties with the past.

Keeping them around would disturb my peace of mind and constantly remind me of the sins I committed.

Young man, you won’t understand now, but when a person suddenly realizes that they have aged, no longer enjoys the hustle and bustle, and can stay on the island, they will never leave their home; if they can be alone, they will never gather with others.

I have grown accustomed to solitude and have come to enjoy the tranquility.

In the world of cultivators, except for feigned happiness, everything else is real.”

Hou Niao, “One last question, how much longer can this array last?”

Lady Zhu, “If I successfully ascend to the Golden Core, it will be worry-free for three hundred years; if I fail, it will collapse in an instant.”

“What will happen then?”

“After being suppressed for over a hundred years, there will be a violent eruption, and nothing will be left of Bamboo Island.”

“Is this the real reason you schemed to have your disciples leave?

You could have made it clear outright, but you did this to preserve the face of the ‘Mother of Bamboo Island’?”

“…”

“I don’t think you’ll succeed.”

“Because you plan to stop me?”

“No, because you have strayed from your original intention upon coming to the island.

You have not only affected the natural growth of the bamboo forest but also altered the operational patterns of the volcano.

You have changed nature, and you have changed yourself.”

With that said, he no longer spoke further and slowly ascended; he would not stop her.

Lady Zhu was right, in cultivation, everyone is selfish and unscrupulous.

Lady Zhu watched him leave, a trace of relief appearing in her eyes.

If not for her Heavenly Bamboo Body state, her combat strength would actually be very limited.

Despite being two realms lower, it really might not have been easy to deal with that Sword Cultivator.

But the Sword Cultivator’s understanding and reason had kindled a sliver of hope in her, “Young friend, if I don’t make it through this, could you look after them for me?

I would entrust everything on Bamboo Island to you…”

Hou Niao was disdainful, “You see, you don’t even have confidence in yourself; sorry, but I never take care of others’ aftermaths, and we don’t share that kind of relationship.

Why should I complete the tasks you should be doing yourself?”

You can be selfish, but you should also understand others’ selfishness.”

Hou Niao slowly flew out of the volcano’s crater, having spent no more than an hour coming and going, which greatly surprised the disciples gathered at the crater.

“Your master is preparing to form her core below, my advice is, prepare for the aftermath,” Hou Niao said indifferently.

Of course, they would not truly prepare for the aftermath, but they must once again be ready to evacuate, and this time, permanently.

Hou Niao didn’t say much more, having delivered his message, the rest was up to them to arrange.

For someone at the Realm of Phoenix Tail Bamboo, what was there not to understand?

The bamboo forest beneath the volcano began to wither, as if foretelling something.

Aside from Hou Niao, who could still remain focused on nature, other cultivators of Bamboo Island felt each day last an eternity, anxious and puzzled with too many questions to ask.

What they heard from the sword cultivators, they were somewhat reluctant to believe, especially since the sword cultivators weren’t willing to elaborate.

It was one thing for the cultivators, but the mortals were quite resentful.

They had been run ragged back and forth during this period, and moving was the most laborious of tasks.

Most crucially, they felt unsettled, not knowing where they belonged.

Setting aside the restlessness of everyone on Bamboo Island, Hou Niao was single-mindedly immersed in the natural cycle of the dying bamboo forest, using the natural succession of the bamboo to assess whether his impulse to advance to the Upper Realm was genuine.

Advancing to the Upper Realm was a good thing, but if one advanced to the wrong realm…

After Tongxuan should come God Sensing, but now he was more certain that if he followed this feeling, he would definitely reach the last of the three realms of Tongtian — the Natural Realm.

Before he came to Lizhi Sea, the three powerhouses of Jin City were at this realm and, of course, years had passed, and their situations might not have remained the same?

Wasn’t such a speed of cultivation too fast?

But Hou Niao was self-aware; he knew that even if he really advanced to the Natural Realm this time, he couldn’t avoid the phase of the God Sensing Realm, because the initial spiritual development in the God Sensing Realm was a prerequisite condition for Core Formation.

His problem was that he had mixed up the sequence in the process of cultivation.

If he let things take their natural course, could it adversely affect his future cultivation?

This was the issue he now needed to calm down and resolve.

He had other choices, for example, to give up this intuitive impulse to advance and methodically wait for the opportunity of God Sensing, which was the most stable method.

This method had been proven correct by countless predecessors in the Cultivation World over thousands of years of practice.

It was also the most prudent method, least likely to cause any side effects, seldom leading to the creation of heart demons.

To prevent heart demons, fortifying one’s spirit was the paramount secret.

This is why the second realm of the three realms of Tongtian was God Sensing.

It helped cultivators avoid illusions and misconceptions during the cultivation process.

For instance, his current feeling of needing to advance to the Natural Realm, could it be an unwitting misconception?

A heart demon in a cultivator’s process of cultivation was a formidable barrier to growth, beginning namelessly, arising obscurely.

Even if you knew it might be a heart demon, you couldn’t fend off its temptation — such was the formidable nature of heart demons.

So formidable that even now, with his intuitive impulse to the Natural Realm, he couldn’t accurately judge whether to advance or not.

He had the Purple Mansion Vortex, which helped strengthen his spiritual power, and theoretically, he should take this main road.

But he had a special fondness for nature, feeling it yet hesitating, essentially abandoning the Great Dao.

It was difficult!

A month passed since he exited the volcano, and the bamboo forest at the foot of the volcano began to die off in large numbers.

He could feel the natural scent of dissipation in the air, but this was not decay, it was the cycle of life.

What he was waiting for was the moment of new life, when bamboo flowers covered the mountains, withering spread far and wide, life’s cycle reaching a low point… then, when new life broke through the soil, that would be his moment to decide.

Advance?

Or not?

In such an environment, seated amidst decay, he sensed through the sword orchids in his Purple Mansion that somewhere at the foot of the volcano, a bamboo shoot was about to break through the soil to the light.

New life was not just emerging for a bamboo shoot, but also for his future!

He made his decision.

…In the realm of heaven and earth, connecting times with spirits divine.

The Great Dao of Nature, beyond human manipulation.