The mysterious black Qi.
At first, Bubai had brushed it off as so unique energy originating from the relics plundered from secret realms.
But tonight had refreshed that naive assumption.
Who would have expected he'd co face to face with these sinister tendrils once again, and so much to boot!
To top it off, it just had to be tonight of all nights, beneath the eerie glow of that Blue Moon that bore such intimate ties to his transmigration!
Transmigration. Blue Moon. Other Shore. Secret realms. Where is the link? What common secret do they all have?
These mysteries were far beyond his reach, but Bubai was sure of one thing.
Whatever these black Qi were and wherever they spawned from, they were far from simple.
But simple or not, their final destination remains the sa…
Bubai's consciousness plunged into his inner dantian.
Lo and behold, a gazillion black wisps writhed like an army of maggots in the orb of viridescent water, and at the heart of it all, the sprouting seed was sucking up all these inky invaders like a hungry whale!
Around the seed, the jade-green water churned like a whirlpool and not a single morsel escaped the seed's domain of devouring!
"rlin above. Eat. Eat! You only know how to eat, but don't even bother telling ! No wonder I haven't been bothered by any babbles ever since you've awakened!"
During the decade after his transmigration, the maddening hums never left him alone.
The Blue Moon was the D-Day where the hamr really cos down, but this ailnt still sporadically buzzed around him like a mosquito during the rest of the year.
But Bubai had felt his life had been peculiarly quiet ever since he began his smooth-sailing cultivation story.
Now, he knows why.
"If it wasn't for the overwhelming mass gathering overhead on this haunting night, I wouldn't even know who's the real ghost!"
Of course, his mysterious seed is the ghost, but it didn't an it was a bad thing.
Bubai rembers how his mind was usually clawed out by this point every year.
But this year, he's still wide awake and chilling, even going into overti without notice.
Bubai checked his lively seed once more. "Really. It seems nothing could escape this cutie's voracious appetite."
He wasn't sure whether this indiscriminate feast was a blessing or a curse, but…
At least he was temporarily free from the suffocating influence of that negative status buff that had plagued him for a decade.
Alas… the night is long, and the countdown had only just begun.
His situation was like standing at the edge of the abyss, staring down into the darkness that only deepened the longer he gazed into it.
How long can his shield last against the unknown limits of the inbound darkness? That was anyone's guess...
"...Fairy brother… Fairy brother!"
Surfacing back in reality, Bubai cast his eyes toward his companion.
Those bright, starry eyes searched his for an answer. "Humph! Is the sky so fascinating? Why does fairy brother keep looking up at it tonight?"
"Oh, nothing…" Bubai tore his eyes away from the fairy to admire the pavilion's carved latticework. "Just wondering why... there's so much fog around."
"Fog?" Shu Ling's lashes fluttered as she glanced upward. She then tilted her head with a puzzled face. "Hum? Does fairy brother an the weather outside the sect?"
Weather? Yup. It seems the fairy can't see the dark mist that was too close for comfort.
But that made sense.
That brooding, inky cloud hovering just over his head seed to only have a single target: him.
They seed to ignore the fairy altogether. Not a single wisp deigned to bother her despite them sitting at the sa table beneath that growing cursed shroud.
Since this was the case, there was no need to let her get involved in this secret of his.
Bubai let a casual sip of his tea mask any signs of the truth. "Yeah, the weather's been strange lately, hasn't it?"
"Hum. Hum. Does the weather make fairy brother uneasy as well?"
Uneasy? Bubai's gaze drifted past the black cloud, taking in the hazy dark skies beyond the sect's barrier.
The rolling waves of mist obscuring the heavens was like an upside-down ocean, and the rising Blue Moon was like the titanic slowly sinking into that sea of mist.
Aside from the promised breathtaking night view, Bubai really didn't see anything out of the ordinary that would unsettle him, but... just play along.
"Yes, a bit, but I don't know why…"
A knowing smile was birthed on the face of the scholar with hair like spun silver.
"Hum, hum. Sotis the senses of your bunch is really just for show, but… Hum. Be happy, fairy brother. Your paranoia isn't just acting up this ti."
No, he's pretty sure it's acting up for another reason, but...
Facing those unblinking eyes that scratched his itch, Bubai just went with the flow. "Fairy, please enlighten ."
His knowledge bank acquiescence with a nod.
"Hum. Rember. This is the desert. We don't really see clouds for months, sotis years on end. But lately, there is an upset in this balance in nature. Can fairy brother guess why?"
Bubai selected the most likely possibility in his books. "Is it... the remnant influence of the secret realm?"
"If only." Shu Ling let the tea moisten her throat and continued.
"The birth of the secret realm can indeed stir up the Desert's Howling Rage and cover the skies in a sandstorm disaster, but it isn't the kind to whip up the opposite elents of rain, mist, and snow."
"Then that…" Bubai glanced back at the sky, then at her.
"Those white stuff drifting in the skies?" Shu Ling pursed her lips, her gaze serious for the first ti.
"They're brought by that one orthodox sect to balance the playing field. This fairy is sure fairy brother can guess which one?"
Orthodox. Clouds. There can only be one. "Cloud Sword Sect?"
"Humph! Who else could it be." Shu Ling bobbed her head, her tone mockingly sweet.
"If it weren't for their oh-so-majestic road of clouds up there, those hypocrites wouldn't dare set foot in the Sun Furnace Sect's territory!"
"Humph, if they don't dare, then don't co. But no, they instead have to spread those white stuff like fart wherever they go. Even if it's temporary, it's still an eyesore."
Bubai's lips twitched at her blunt analogy. "Well, at least it makes the moon look prettier, right?"
The fairy shot him a sharp glare. "Fairy brother, will you still think that once you know those clouds are actually a giant sword hanging over our heads?"
The words struck Bubai like a bolt of lightning, and his mory flashed back to the apocalyptic scene in the loose cultivator city back in the Cloud Sword Sect's territory.
He has never forgotten...
That old devil Ma Pei sacrificed the lives of the city to manifest his bloody sword, but it got stopped by the colossal mist sword that fell like a teorite from the clouds above!
Bubai could almost hear the earth-shaking roar of its impact…
A pit opened in Bubai's stomach when he squinted up at the serene sky once more.
Ah, great. Just what he needed—imagining those seemingly harmless mist and fluffy clouds becoming a colossal destroyer that could ruin his day at any given mont.
Bubai took a slow, asured breath to shake off the unease.
"Well, if the sky falls, there's always a tall man to hold it up. And besides, there's still a layer between us and those clouds."
Shu Ling rolled her eyes, her expression tinged with the weary patience of soone explaining sothing painfully obvious.
"Fairy Brother, don't go thinking the sect barrier is invincible. Its energy supply is limited. Just be smart and don't loiter in the outer district when the barrier is under attack. Hum."
"Why?"
"Hum. You'll understand if that ti ever cos. Fufufu…" The elegant lady's delicate hand hid her lips that chid like funeral bells.
Bubai stifled a groan when he understood another flag had been raised.
rlin's beard, this fairy really enjoys throwing ominous tidbits one after another at him today.
Where's that friendly fairy godmother who only focuses on teasing him instead of planting flags left and right?
Oh, right. Almost forgot.
The teaser was still here, just playing on a different level… below.
Like twin pools under the moonlight, those shimring eyes gave him a look he knew all too well.
"Fufufu, little fairy brother is all hard ready. Does fairy brother want this fairy to give you a simple helping hand?"
Uh… here? Bubai's lips twitched. "Fairy, the curse…"
The wicked charr licked her lips, her voice dropping to a playful purr. "This fairy won't bite. Promise~"
Those eyes were roving over him with a look that could lt iron, and his little brother begging him to surrender honestly made it all that much harder.
Yet, a strained, awkward smile was all he could muster.
Honestly, Bubai trusts this fairy enough to believe she won't be affected by the curse, but…
That ominous black cloud, swelling over his head and growing more foreboding by the second, really deterred him from having any sort of fun.
Picking up the onset of so faint whispers that made his skin prickle uneasily, Bubai could only suppress his manly call of nature.
"Sorry, maybe another day, Fairy. I still have so things to take care of tonight... uh, so final preparations for the battle tomorrow and all that."
The fairy pouted. "More like going ho to dote on your Xiao Ai."
Ahem. Bubai cleared his throat. "Fairy, if that's what you think, you're welco to co and watch over all night."
The fairy's cheeks ward and she huffed, "Humph. Who wants to watch you all night long? This fairy has better things to do."
Bubai chuckled lightly and peered up at the thickening curtain of black rain then back at her.
"Then, fairy, please excuse for tonight. Tonight is really inappropriate. I promise I'll make it up to you another day."
Shu Ling set down her teacup and stuck her raised pinky over. Bubai smiled and hooked it with his own.
"Hum. Hum. Very well. This fairy will be lenient this ti. But fairy brother better use your ti wisely."
"Will do." Bubai downed the rest of his tea in a single gulp and stashed away the teacup. Rising hurriedly, he bid her farewell with a polite smile. "Then, fairy, enjoy slowly."
Seeing Bubai rush off like he was on his way to reincarnate, Shu Ling stood up to send him off.
"Fairy brother, don't forget to co show support to Granny's booth at the arena. You can't miss it!"
Alas, the man leaping off the rocky cliff barely registered the lady's invitation, and the silence left behind was ever so lonely.
The blue moonlight gradually seeped through the lonely silhouette and soon… her ethereal form faded away.
All that was left was a lone cup of cold tea, still full and untouched.
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