MJWCATFPITWOC Chapter 91

Chapter 91: Obsession

Chapter 91: Obsession

In the subsequent competitions, he ended almost every match in an instant. His speed was so fast that people couldn’t react. Gradually, as soon as anyone heard the name “Shen Yucheng,” their entire body would involuntarily tremble.

To them, this name was synonymous with the Grim Reaper. Facing him meant the end of their ranking aspirations for the year.

Finally, under the strong protests of many cultivators, the competition organizers made an adjustment, forbidding Shen Yucheng from directly controlling his opponents with the Puppet Dao.

Initially, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that there was finally some fairness. But who knew that the following matches would truly show them what “despair” meant.

Shen Yucheng switched to using the Myriad Transformation Gold Thread technique and still beat his opponents into submission one after another.

“What’s going on?! They forbade his Puppet Dao, and he’s still inflicting serious injuries?”

“When he used the Puppet Dao, we could at least blame it on a difference in talent, but without it, he’s just crushing us!”

“Damn it… so the Puppet Dao was actually protecting us?!”

When Shen Yucheng returned to the platform, Yun Yan was clapping his hands and laughing, “Congratulations again to our big winner. But Yucheng, your technique is truly remarkable, even without the Puppet Dao, you can still dominate the entire field like this.”

Shen Yucheng’s face was expressionless. To him, it didn’t matter whether the Puppet Dao was forbidden or not. After all, he had survived in an era where he couldn’t use the Puppet Dao, not to mention participating in Immortal Sect tournaments that were even more brutal and filled with powerful experts than this.

He didn’t answer, just looked at Yun Yan and suddenly asked, “Why aren’t you participating in the competition?”

Yun Yan smiled, “To fulfill the Sect Leader’s request, and for the sake of fairness, as a Peak Lord, I can’t participate this time.”

Shen Yucheng was slightly stunned, not expecting that there was such a rule. But he was even more curious about Yun Yan’s strength, so he pressed, “What about in previous years?”

Yun Yan shrugged, his smile a bit helpless, “I haven’t participated then either.”

“Why?” Shen Yucheng was a little surprised. With Yun Yan’s talent, having broken through to the Nascent Soul stage at such a young age, how could he not win a place if he participated?

Yun Yan said sheepishly, “Because each sect’s registration quota is selected from each peak.”

Before he could finish speaking, Shen Yucheng understood. The quota was naturally given to those disciples who were being cultivated with focus. How could it be Yun Yan’s turn? So even if he had broken through to the Nascent Soul stage, no one would have paid special attention to him.

At this moment, the announcement called out Shen Yucheng’s name again. As he prepared to go on stage, he saw the little boy in Yun Yan’s arms staring at him intently, his eyes filled with unconcealable light. But Shen Yucheng didn’t say anything and turned to walk onto the fighting platform.

As soon as he left, Yun Yan gazed at the young man on the stage who was defeating his opponents with ease in just a few moves, a smile of appreciation on his face.

Knowing that the boy wouldn’t respond, he murmured, “You think he’s very handsome too, right? Yucheng is a very special person. He’s so powerful, possessing strength that others dream of, sometimes making you think he’s omnipotent, but sometimes making you feel… like he has nothing at all. I can never see through what he truly wants. That phrase ‘Profound Silence, Thunderous Voice’ is what describes him.”

The boy still didn’t say a word, his eyes constantly following Shen Yucheng’s figure, unknowingly nodding slightly.

Yun Yan didn’t miss this subtle gesture, and his heart trembled slightly.

This was the first time the boy had responded to his words.

But he didn’t expose it, just smiled faintly.

After the match ended, Shen Yucheng won again. Yun Yan said softly to the boy beside him, “I don’t plan to make Yucheng my disciple.”

The boy looked at him with wide eyes. Yun Yan smiled meaningfully, gazing at Shen Yucheng’s back as he was cheered and surrounded by the crowd, “Actually, the Sect Leader didn’t make this request at all. I just wanted the world to know that there’s a piece of precious jade here worth being seen.”

Because of Shen Yucheng’s participation, the Nascent Soul group competition of the Immortal Sect Tournament, which was originally scheduled to last for a month, was forced to finish within three days.

This event was still regarded as a legend by later generations for decades to come.

After the Immortal Sect Tournament ended, Yun Yan officially accepted the boy as his disciple. He didn’t have high expectations for this child, only hoping that he could be like the founders of the sect, a person who was gently accepted by the world.

However, one day, the child suddenly awakened to the Immortal Dao. Whether it was the will of heaven or not, he awakened to the Puppet Dao, which was rare even among thousands of people. The boy was more excited than ever before.

Since he didn’t have a name, Yun Yan named him “Baili.”

Upon hearing this name, the book in Shen Yucheng’s hand fell to the ground. Yun Yan thought there was something wrong with the name and was about to ask when Shen Yucheng was silent for a moment and shook his head, “It’s nothing.”

But only he knew in his heart why there had been no news of the Futian Sect’s Eldest Senior Brother for so many years.

Because that person was actually Baili.

Since Puppet Dao cultivators were already rare, Shen Yucheng naturally became Baili’s instructor.

He thought that if a Puppet Dao cultivator could protect himself even after losing the Puppet Dao, he then taught the Myriad Transformation Gold Thread technique to him as well.

Baili didn’t disappoint his expectations, practicing diligently every day, being clever and hardworking. In just a few years, he reached the Golden Core Completion stage.

During this time, Shen Yucheng was once eager to leave, but one day while chatting with Yun Yan about the Northern Region, he remembered Jitan Village there. He had entered the past there. Perhaps the current situation was the same as then, caused by some kind of Time Art. He remembered it was called “Time Dao.”

If he wanted to leave, he could only obediently complete the entire process of the Time Dao and break the caster’s obsession.

After understanding this situation, he immediately looked for the creator of the Time Dao, but he had no clues at all.

But later, he thought that the biggest anomaly before he lost consciousness was the overdraft of spiritual power, which led to physical weakness, making him vulnerable. And this “vulnerability,” he boldly guessed, was caused by the pill that Bai Guchen had given him to swallow in order to resurrect Baili.

If Bai Guchen had really succeeded, then the one who was now dominating his body was Baili, resurrected from a thousand years later.

Shen Yucheng looked at the young man who was working hard to cultivate at this time, and understood in his heart that his only task next was to find out the young man’s obsession.

Well, there was no use in being anxious. Shen Yucheng could only patiently stay in this Time Dao, watching Yun Yan and Baili’s daily interactions.

Over the years, he gradually understood Yun Yan’s true strength. Who could have been born with Dual Daos? But Yun Yan was that genius, just that he had never publicized it.

But Shen Yucheng also found that this person’s life skills were simply terrible. Apart from his high cultivation, he was useless at everything else. Just cooking noodles could cause a fire on Futian Sect’s mountain. This kind of “natural disaster” was unprecedented.

Later, all these things were handled by Baili alone.

The two teachers and disciples didn’t talk much on weekdays, but there was a quiet understanding between them.

Yun Yan didn’t say anything, but Baili always understood his intentions and silently prepared everything properly. Every time Yun Yan got some rare treasure, the first person he thought of was Baili. The two lived so quietly, seemingly without words, but more intimate than thousands of words.

On the contrary, when Shen Yucheng was present, these silent teachers and disciples would forcibly start topics.

But the general content of the conversation… was just like that.

Yun Yan: “Yucheng, the Sect Leader wants to borrow you again. Do you think he’s being too much?”

Shen Yucheng replied faintly, “Mm.”

Baili: “Teacher, there’s a move I don’t quite understand. Can I ask you about it?”

“Okay.”

Then it was always…

“Yucheng, Yucheng.”

“Teacher.”

“Yu…”

Shen Yucheng: “…” Annoying.

The turning point occurred when Baili was eighteen years old. When he went down the mountain to train, he brought someone back. Shen Yucheng recognized him at a glance, it was the young Bai Guchen, those lively little eyes filled with unease.

Baili said that he had saved this little thing on the road, but this child was like a tail that couldn’t be shaken off. No matter how he hid, Bai Guchen could always find him. He even knew which inn he was staying at, and finally followed him all the way back to Futian Sect.

Shen Yucheng looked at this scene and couldn’t describe what he felt in his heart.

Bai Guchen was helpless and alone, so Yun Yan nodded and let him stay in the sect temporarily, waiting for him to grow up before making plans.

From then on, Bai Guchen became Baili’s shadow, the two were inseparable, cultivating and living together.

Shen Yucheng watched silently.

Half a year later, an unexpected storm came. That day, the Sect Leader suddenly visited Yun Yan, but unexpectedly discovered that Bai Guchen was secretly learning the Crimson Puppet Art, which was popular throughout the cultivation world at the time.

This cultivation method was controversial in the cultivation world at the time and was regarded as a heterodox path. As the strongest righteous sect, how could Lingfeng Sect allow such a person to exist? He immediately ordered that Bai Guchen be imprisoned in the dungeon.

At that time, Yun Yan was out on peak affairs. By the time he returned to the sect, covered in dust, Baili had also been imprisoned in order to protect Bai Guchen.

Shen Yucheng watched all of this but couldn’t intervene, otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to find Baili’s obsession.

So before Yun Yan returned, Shen Yucheng used a little trick to make Yun Yan mistakenly believe that they had been traveling together during this time.

After learning about this, Yun Yan stayed in the Sect Leader’s Hall for three days and three nights before coming out, and Baili was also released. But Bai Guchen was still locked in the dungeon, and there was no sign of his release.

Baili’s emotions changed, and he was out of character as he got angry at Yun Yan for the first time. He would rather continue to be imprisoned himself, hoping that Bai Guchen could come out first because the child’s body was already weak, and the environment of the dungeon was extremely harsh.

But this time, Yun Yan wasn’t as gentle as usual, and firmly rejected Baili’s reckless behavior of wanting to break out of prison to save people.

Baili was so angry that he slammed the door and left.

Yun Yan looked at the door that had been pushed open and smiled helplessly, “Yucheng, did I do something wrong?”

Shen Yucheng stood by the door, looking at the faint scars under Yun Yan’s sleeves, which were the price he paid for those three days and three nights.

What Yun Yan did in the Sect Leader’s Hall for those three days so that Baili could be released immediately, the answer was self-evident.

But miraculously, a few days later, Bai Guchen was also released. The price was that he was never allowed to step into Lingfeng Sect for life.

Hearing such a light-hearted ban, Shen Yucheng stood in front of Yun Yan, his voice was unusually cold, “What did you promise him?”

He didn’t think that the old fox of a Sect Leader was kind enough to let Bai Guchen go so easily, this idiot must have done something that would harm himself for an unrelated person.

Yun Yan looked at him and smiled as usual, “Yucheng, the person I trust most in this world is you. We probably won’t be able to see each other for a while. Help me out, take care of Baili. He’s a sensible child. He’s so excited this time just because that’s his first friend and he wants to protect that importance.”

He took out something from his sleeve and handed it to Shen Yucheng, “This, you’ll know how to use it when necessary.”

Shen Yucheng didn’t take it, just asked, “Where are you going?”

At that moment, he suddenly felt that this world was just an illusion to him, but this person in front of him made his heart ripple like never before.

Yun Yan still smiled gently and said softly, “Seclusion.”

That day was the last time they spoke face to face.

After Yun Yan entered the seclusion room, he never came out again. No one knew what he and the Sect Leader had talked about. But Shen Yucheng knew clearly in his heart that the negotiation was definitely not pleasant. In order to protect Bai Guchen, Yun Yan had probably paid everything he could.

After Yun Yan went into seclusion, Baili couldn’t find Bai Guchen either, he was out of his mind all day long, and his eyes had lost their light. He asked Shen Yucheng every day, “Did Master say when he’ll come out of seclusion?”

Shen Yucheng just shook his head every time.

Time passed little by little, and drastic changes struck like a storm. The Immortal-Demon War broke out, and the Immortal Realm retreated steadily. Baili wasn’t on the list of participants, but ultimately, due to insufficient manpower, he was also called to the battlefield.

Shen Yucheng stood in the distance, looking at the battlefield, watching Baili gradually converge with the history he knew.

Until Baili ran out of spiritual power and fell to the ground, about to be trampled to death by a demon beast, at a critical moment, a golden thread silently landed on his back, and spiritual power poured into his body along the thread.

Baili was shocked, feeling the spiritual power miraculously return. He didn’t have time to think too much and could only continue fighting.

High in the sky, Shen Yucheng withdrew the golden thread and murmured, “Master, I can only help you this far.” That was what Yun Yan had left him, now… it was used on Baili.

The war ultimately ended with Baili’s victory, but it was also from that moment on that he completely became a thorn in the side of the sect. Yun Yan was gone, no one could speak for him from the sect’s standpoint. He fled all the way, and finally met Bai Guchen again in the Northern Region, the two hid in the mountains.

Shen Yucheng followed silently, until that night… that night of death that he already knew about in history.

Baili was captured, suppressed on the spot by the Hundred Great Sects, and forcibly pressed to the ground to be executed.

Faced with a chorus of taunts, Baili didn’t struggle, just raised his head, his eyes passing through the crowd, across the mountains, and towards the direction that had never appeared.

What he was saying wasn’t anything else, just a soft murmur that was barely audible, “Master… has he come?”

The sharp blade was raised high, about to fall, and only silence remained between heaven and earth.

However, blood didn’t splatter, and heads didn’t roll.

A wisp of breeze brushed past, and the world suddenly became silent. A figure in white descended from the sky, his robes falling silently, landing in front of Baili.

Shen Yucheng came to Baili.

“I’ve found it, your obsession.”