MJWCATFPITWOC Chapter 89

Chapter 89: A Thousand Years Ago

Shen Yucheng opened his eyes and saw Mo Yifeng standing in front of him, covered in blood and wounds. His lips moved, as if saying something, but he couldn’t hear a single word.

Then, the scene shifted. He saw his own body manipulating golden threads, stabbing with clean and decisive movements, the sword tip piercing through his chest, blood splattering everywhere. Shen Yucheng’s heart skipped a beat.

Where was this? How could he be fighting with Mo Yifeng?

His last memory was of leading a million disciples to resist the demon beasts. Although he had Mo Yifeng’s spiritual power as support, it was still far from enough.

Then, he remembered suddenly feeling dizzy, followed by an unspeakable feeling of swelling in his dantian, constantly growing, as if something was about to burst out of his body.

And then he opened his eyes to the current scene.

Damn it…

He had no control over his body at all and could only watch helplessly as the wounds on Mo Yifeng’s body deepened one after another.

It was pitch black all around, so dark he couldn’t see his own fingers. Only the sound of his heartbeat echoed in his ears, silent and clear.

He didn’t know how long it had been when a voice suddenly rang out:

“Do you really want to leave here?”

Upon hearing this, Shen Yucheng immediately replied, “What do you mean?”

The voice said casually, “Actually, you don’t want to go at all, do you? You don’t even have the courage to face Mo Yifeng.”

“You’re afraid to see him, aren’t you? You still can’t let go of what happened ten years ago.”

“You left him without a word. Did you ever consider his feelings? You thought it was better for him that way, but what was the result? Ten years have passed, and you’ve realized that he hasn’t been doing well, that he’s almost gone crazy because of your disappearance. Who is Mo Yifeng desperately searching for in the black market? What is the purpose of him using his own blood to nurture the formation? He bears the burden of infamy without ever defending himself—who is it all for?”

Shen Yucheng couldn’t refute a single word of this. Because every word was like a voice from his own heart, brutally exposed.

His initial decision to avoid meeting Mo Yifeng was based on the belief that he would disrupt the other person’s life. But through their interactions, he understood how impulsive his decision had been, how it had completely changed Mo Yifeng’s life. That man could have had a brilliant future, but now he was living in darkness like a trapped beast, avoiding people and locking himself away.

“When you were imprisoned underground by Bai Guchen, and your hearts connected, were you really not moved at all?” The voice chuckled coldly, “Do you deserve to receive this person’s love? You are the one who disrupted his life in the first place. Shen Yucheng, now you understand, don’t you? Deep down, you don’t want to go back.”

“It’s not me trapping you, it’s you yourself who can’t forgive yourself.”

Shen Yucheng listened blankly as the voice echoed in his mind. Although he didn’t want to admit it, every word was like a needle, piercing his heart with real pain.

As he thought this, a white light suddenly appeared behind him. A powerful force abruptly pulled him in. He felt dizzy, his vision blurred, and he found himself in another place.

“Customer, would you like to try one? Our fairy fruits are praised even by the Sword Master.”

As soon as Shen Yucheng adjusted to his surroundings, a woman in her forties, a landlady, appeared before him, holding a vibrant red fruit he had never seen before. The landlady was wearing old-fashioned clothes, made of plain fabric, nothing flashy.

But that wasn’t the main point. He quickly noticed the words she used.

Sword Master?

Shen Yucheng instantly grabbed the landlady’s hand, asking urgently, “The Sword Master has been here? When?”

The landlady was taken aback by his grip, her face slightly flushed: “Just…just now. He went that way.” She pointed in a direction.

Shen Yucheng followed her finger and saw a figure with an outstanding temperament in the crowd. Without thinking, he immediately thanked her and took off in pursuit.

He had just taken a step when someone grabbed his arm. He turned back and saw that it was the landlady, who was smiling and said, “Customer, buy one, it’s really delicious.”

Anxious to catch up with the person ahead, Shen Yucheng took out a few higher quality spiritual stones from his body and gave them to her. Without waiting for change, he grabbed a fairy fruit and ran after him.

The landlady stood there, looking at the stones in her hand, and sighed: “This kid is too pitiful, he only has stones on him, not even a copper coin.”

In just an instant, the figure was gone in the vast crowd. Shen Yucheng looked around and finally spotted him in front of a stall not far away.

The man was bending over, picking out vegetables, and bargaining with the owner.

“Boss, I’m buying so much, can you give me a discount? Is fifteen copper coins okay?”

The voice was gentle and calm, but it made Shen Yucheng feel inexplicably familiar.

The old man was displeased: “Immortal Master, this is two whole baskets of vegetables. Thirty copper coins is already cheap. You’re cutting it in half, that won’t do.”

The man continued to haggle with the old man, constantly probing the price, but the old man stubbornly refused to budge. Helpless, he was about to take out his money. At this moment, Shen Yucheng, who could no longer stand by and watch, finally intervened. He grabbed the man’s hand, and said in a tone that was neither too heavy nor too light:

“Boss, I see that there are water droplets all over your vegetables. I also saw you packing them into the basket, and the bottom of the basket is still dripping water. How much of these thirty-odd pounds are actually vegetables? And how much is water?”

The old man never expected someone to suddenly come and interfere. The smile on his face froze, and he said unkindly, “Who…who are you? What are you butting in for?”

Shen Yucheng smiled and pointed to the bustling street behind him: “Never mind who I am. If people on the street found out you were selling like this, would you still be able to keep your stall open?”

The old man was choked speechless, his face flushed. He opened his mouth, wanting to bargain, “Then…then twenty!”

“Fifteen, no more.” Shen Yucheng didn’t give him a chance to catch his breath, and directly set the price, his tone firm.

Seeing that he couldn’t win, the old man was about to say something more, but Shen Yucheng cut him off: “You know best how much water is in these vegetables.”

The old man’s face looked as if he had eaten shit, and he could only grit his teeth and accept his fate.

At this moment, the man looked at Shen Yucheng with admiration: “This brother is amazing!”

Only then did Shen Yucheng turn around and take a serious look at the man. But as soon as he saw him, he was stunned. He had never seen this man before, but his heart suddenly trembled, and he blurted out: “…Master?”

At the same time, he finally remembered where he had heard that familiar voice before. Wasn’t this the voice of his master in the mountain cave, whom he had never met!

The other person was surprisingly handsome, with ink-black hair, gentle but firm features, and a gentle gaze that still held a hint of unapproachable coldness.

The man chuckled: “Hmm? Brother, I haven’t taken any disciples yet. And we look about the same age, how could I possibly be your master?”

Hearing this, Shen Yucheng looked around. He had previously assumed that the Sword Master referred to Mo Yifeng and only cared about searching for him, without paying attention to his surroundings. Now, upon closer inspection, he realized that the surroundings were indeed different from before. Mountain peaks towered, trees were lush and green, and a lake was within reach. The market they were in was located on a mountain path.

At the same time, Shen Yucheng thought about the fact that people were using copper coins, not spiritual stones, when they were buying vegetables earlier, and he was shocked.

Although he lacked knowledge, he knew that copper coins were the currency used thousands of years ago.

This series of abnormal circumstances all pointed to one answer.

He had arrived in the cultivation world of a thousand years ago!

He couldn’t believe that this man who looked to be about the same age as him was actually his future master. Although their temperaments were similar, the current him had less experience of life’s hardships in his words and more commonness.

The man waved his fingers in front of his eyes and said softly, “Since we’ve met, it must be fate. My name is Yun Yan, you can just call me by my given name.”

Yun, nestled in the pines by the stream; the sound of bamboo is clear in the passing breeze.

Shen Yucheng’s heart stirred. What a good name, so artistic.

“May I ask for your honorable name, brother?”

“Shen Yucheng.”

The two walked side by side through the market, chatting about the current cultivation world. It turned out that before the outbreak of the war between immortals and demons, demon beasts roamed everywhere, in greater variety and more common than in Shen Yucheng’s era.

Yun Yan was currently a disciple of a certain peak under the Lingfeng Sect, and he had only come to the market today to buy some food. Although he had already entered the Nascent Soul stage and could subsist on spiritual energy alone, he still missed the flavors of the mortal world. This was the first time he was going to cook, so he had come to buy vegetables specifically.

Hearing this, Shen Yucheng couldn’t help but be stunned. He had always thought that his master had been the chief disciple of the Futian Sect from the moment he joined, and then directly became the peak master. Now it seemed that it was still uncertain whether the Futian Sect existed a thousand years ago.

As the two were chatting, a commotion suddenly arose ahead. A stall was surrounded by a crowd, and screams were coming from within.

The two exchanged a glance and immediately hurried over. As soon as they got closer, they saw three adult demon beasts attacking a child who had fallen to the ground.

The surrounding people were helpless and could only watch as the fist-sized claws slammed toward the child. That blow would surely be fatal.

The demon beasts grinned, their fists swung straight down. Just as everyone thought the child was doomed, the fist abruptly stopped.

Everyone looked over in surprise and saw two cultivators standing in front of the child, their robes fluttering, their aura extraordinary. Shen Yucheng blocked the demon beast’s fist with one hand, while Yun Yan quickly picked up the child.

The demon beasts roared and swung their fists even harder, but they couldn’t break through Shen Yucheng’s defense. He was as steady as Mount Tai, without even furrowing his brow.

“Damn it! One isn’t enough, let’s all attack together!” the demon beasts roared.

Yun Yan retreated with the child in his arms, shouting, “Yu Cheng, I’ll help too…”

Before he could finish speaking, a flash of light occurred, and Shen Yucheng had already moved. Golden threads flickered on each of the demon beasts.

He said faintly, “Get lost.”

The three demon beasts’ eyes glazed over, as if they were being controlled, and they rolled away like gourds.

Everyone: “…”

Yun Yan was stunned and said in a low voice, “Yu Cheng…are you on the Puppet Dao?”

Shen Yucheng’s heart tightened. He had subconsciously used the Puppet Art just now, and he only now remembered what he had done in front of everyone.

Before he could speak, the surroundings had already erupted:

“Heavens! Is that immortal master a cultivator of the Puppet Dao? It’s my first time seeing one!”

“So amazing, he made the demon beasts roll away without even lifting a finger!”

“Which sect is the immortal master from? How come I’ve never heard of them?”

Shen Yucheng was momentarily flattered. He only now remembered that if this really was a thousand years ago, then the Puppet Dao hadn’t been classified as a forbidden art yet.

And at this time, the most prosperous path of cultivation in the cultivation world was precisely the Puppet Dao!