Chapter Forty-Two: An Eternal Glance

Hongjian entered the town with utmost caution.

Children’s laughter echoed in the air, mingling with the cries of vendors in the marketplace. Buckets creaked as they were drawn from the well; the blacksmith’s hammer rang out in rhythm, all blending into a harmonious clamor. The sun was sinking in the west—twilight was upon the land. Pedestrians hurried along the streets, everything appearing as normal as could be.

But how could that be possible?

A strange sense of familiarity lingered, as if she had once lived in this very town. Hongjian glanced around, her eyes darting from face to face, when a young housewife approached, carrying a wooden basin—clearly on her way to the stream to wash clothes.

Feigning carelessness, Hongjian bumped into her shoulder. The young woman let out a surprised “Oh!” and glanced at her with reproachful eyes.

Hongjian quickly pressed her palms together in apology. “I’m so sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going. Sister, did I hurt you?”

The young wife sized her up, then smiled. “Aren’t you the Fang family’s girl? You’ve grown so fast! Why are you always so reckless? I just saw your younger brother earlier.”

Hongjian was startled. “Fang Zheng?” Seeing that the woman was in a hurry to wash clothes, she grabbed her sleeve and asked urgently, “Sister, where is this place?”

The young wife gave her a puzzled look. “Isn’t this Siliancity? You’ve only been gone a few days—have you already forgotten?”

Siliancity? The name meant nothing to her, yet she could not deny the streets and faces all seemed vaguely familiar. The young wife, losing interest, turned to continue on her way.

Judging from her words and manner, she truly seemed to know Hongjian—she couldn’t possibly be a demon beast in disguise, could she? Hongjian stood in the bustling street, her mind swirling. If a demon beast could conjure so vast a town, with thousands of people acting out their daily lives in such detail, what kind of power would that require? Surely the sect would not send disciples here to die.

“Sis! Sister!” A familiar voice cut through her daze. Hongjian’s heart skipped a beat as she turned, and indeed, there was her brother Fang Zheng, running toward her, his face alight with joy. They had only seen each other yesterday—such a reunion in the secret realm was impossible. Hongjian watched him draw near, pinched her thigh hard, and winced at the pain. No, this was no dream.

Fang Zheng ran up, looking exactly as he had the day before, his every move radiating trust and affection. “Sis, why are you standing here? Why aren’t you coming home?”

His words struck her like a blow. Home? Suddenly, she remembered where Siliancity was. Before she and Fang Zheng joined the Dancliff Sect, their family of four had lived in a small town with a stream running through it. Back then, Fang Zheng was only five and would remember nothing, while her own memories were vague at best. Was that little town called Siliancity?

Lost in thought, she let Fang Zheng take her hand and lead her toward the end of the street. They entered an alley, her stride quickening until she was nearly running. At the alley’s end stood a house with its gate wide open. Hongjian stopped abruptly as Fang Zheng called out loudly, “Father! Mother! We’re home!”

Hongjian’s breath caught in her chest. Before his words had faded, the curtain of the main room lifted and a tall, broad-shouldered man stepped out, smiling gently. “Hongjian’s home, good girl. You’ve taken such good care of your brother.”

She gazed longingly at his familiar features, her nose stinging as she asked in a trembling voice, “Where’s Mother?”

He glanced at Fang Zheng, then sighed, “She’s resting inside. I told her not to overuse her Transforming Life technique, but when does your mother ever listen to me?” He lifted the curtain and waved them in. “Come inside, we’ll talk.”

This was no demon’s illusion—no magical creature could so easily know about her mother and the Transforming Life technique. It could only be a demon of the heart, born from the depths of her soul. A heart demon? Hongjian didn’t care. All she wanted was to be with her parents.

So, in a flash, she cast aside all thoughts of Dancliff Sect and the secret realm, leaping into her father’s arms with a cry of “Father!” Tears streamed from her eyes as laughter and sobs mingled. “Father, you lied! You promised to fetch me and my brother, but we waited so long and you never came.” Peering into the house, she called out, “Mother, I’m home!”

Her mother’s gentle voice replied from the inner room, “Come in, Hongjian. Let me have a good look at you.”

Hongjian ran inside, kicked off her shoes, and climbed onto the bed, burrowing into the covers and letting her mother hold her as if she were still a child. Looking up, she saw her father and Fang Zheng coming in too. The family of four was reunited at last. Her heart felt steeped in honey as she chirped away, recounting all the adventures she and Fang Zheng had experienced these past years. At last, she complained, “In that wretched Dancliff Sect, we were on edge every day, and there wasn’t a single soul we could trust...”

But her words trailed off, her smile fading. She stared up at the roof beams. In that moment, she was lucid. She remembered where she had come from, where she was now. But the warmth of her mother’s embrace surged over her like a tide, and she surrendered willingly, nestling close and murmuring, “I never want to leave you again.”

The days passed quickly. Before she knew it, a month had gone by. Hongjian had completely adjusted to a life at her parents’ side in Siliancity. They worried about everything for her. Cultivating diligently had become a habit, but although she had long been unable to break through from the sixth to the seventh level of Qi refining, she felt no anxiety or frustration. On the contrary, she was at peace—this was the price she had to pay to remain here, together with her family.

So the years slipped by. Hongjian and Fang Zheng grew up. Though the world was vast, none of the four ever suggested leaving Siliancity.

At twenty-two, Hongjian broke through her bottleneck and reached the seventh level of Qi refining. Because of peculiarities with her spiritual sense, it took another thirty years before she succeeded in forming her foundation. Such a record would have been mocked in Dancliff Sect, but Hongjian cared little. Including her parents, there were only a handful of Foundation Establishment cultivators in all of Siliancity.

For an ordinary person, such an age would have been old, but with nearly three centuries of life ahead as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, she still looked barely in her twenties. She continued practicing the divine sense cultivation technique, but after reaching the tenth level of Qi refining, it yielded no further results. Even so, her divine sense was nearly equal to her mother’s, who was at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment.

As for Fang Zheng—though his aptitude was not great, he had the support of his mother and sister and a measure of good fortune. He succeeded in forming his foundation at forty-seven, several years ahead of Hongjian.

Years later, their father successfully formed his core, causing a sensation in all of Siliancity. The Shi couple did not wish to attract too much attention, and since both their children were now Foundation cultivators with few prospects for marriage in the small town, the family packed up and left together.

They traveled the land, saw many sights, and met many fellow cultivators. But acquaintances were easy to make, true friends rare. In the cultivation world, strength was revered above all, and deep bonds were few. Those who seemed congenial often retreated into seclusion for years on end. In the end, after much searching, Fang Zheng married a female cultivator from a noble family, while Hongjian never found the right person. Once, a Golden Core cultivator from Mingchuan Sect sought to form a partnership with her. She thought it over and declined—she simply did not like him. Aside from some minor benefits in cultivation, there was nothing to gain from such a union. And advancement in cultivation was precisely what she now cared least about.

Alone, she felt even more at ease.

In time, her mother’s life drew to a close. Their father took Hongjian and Fang Zheng to the Endless Sea to hunt demon beasts for their cores. But a great storm arose, and the laws of nature unraveled around them. The tides turned black as ink, and a monstrous demon beast emerged, blotting out the sky. The three of them fought together, but were still outmatched. Her father gave his life to let his children escape. When the time came that one of them had to stay behind to hold off the beast, Hongjian was the one who remained.

Blood filled her mouth and nose, and as her body drifted on the waves of the Endless Sea, two centuries flashed before her eyes—joys and sorrows, life and death, all vanished like a dream. As a child she had been separated from her parents and sent to Dancliff Sect, forever longing for her family to come for her. Later, they were reunited. No, she remembered now—it was during the Qingyun Festival that she had entered the sect’s secret realm, willingly binding herself to her heart demon, unwilling to wake.

As this thought flickered by, her soul trembled violently. The world before her eyes melted away like snow. Hongjian looked around in confusion, only then realizing she was standing at the exit of the Misty Valley, thin fog swirling before her. She had no idea how long she had been standing there.