Chapter Eighteen: Someone Stayed Behind Last Night

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Cultivators from all sides tried to persuade him, each making their own arguments. Lin Xiu felt his resolve waver. Perhaps this really would be the last Soul-Calming Night, and whether he watched it or not made little difference. In the end, he forced a laugh and nodded his consent.

For thousands of years, the Path of Destiny had always recorded the scenes of every centennial Soul-Calming Night. Besides the Tower of Geniuses, they missed not a single corner of Tianhe City—every street, every alley, every residence was under their observation. Over the years, they had captured countless images of Soul-Calming Nights and witnessed many sinister beings taking human form to wander the streets. Yet, despite painstaking effort and repeated scrutiny, they could never deduce the origin or entry point of these malevolent entities from their movements. Not even how the mortals in Tianhe City would vanish after nightfall and reappear unharmed at dawn was ever understood.

Simply put, aside from compiling some useless information, they remained utterly ignorant and gained nothing. Thus, in the last thousand years, the Path of Destiny had relaxed their strictness when reviewing the Soul-Calming Night records and no longer forced other cultivators to avoid the screenings.

"Well then, I’ll leave it to you all. If you find anything, please inform us immediately. The Path of Destiny will reward you handsomely," Lin Xiu said to the crowd, offering the standard pleasantries. Then, he turned to his fellow disciples, nodding slightly to signal the start.

As for hoping this group would discover anything useful? That was a joke. It was clear they were only here to see Shang You’er.

No one knew exactly when it began, but at a certain Soul-Calming Night, someone spotted a stunningly beautiful woman—one of the sinister beings—in the public records released by the Path of Destiny. She was so breathtaking that her fame spread instantly. From then on, every cultivator who came to witness the awakening of new talents would stay an extra day just to catch a glimpse of her in the recordings.

As more and more people watched, no one uncovered any secrets; instead, from the dialogues between the sinister beings, they learned the woman’s name—Shang You’er.

But the great Elder Wang Jianguo of the Path of Destiny saw a business opportunity. He instructed his people to curate lists from the dialogues—Top Ten Powerhouses in the Sealing Formation, Top Ten Beauties, Top Ten Handsome Men, and so on. Shang You’er easily claimed the title of the most beautiful woman.

After several rounds of promotion, the Path of Destiny edited the records to create close-ups and dynamic scrolls highlighting the most popular sinister beings—calling them "dynamic posters"—which they sold at a set price. The moment these went on sale, they were snatched up by male and female cultivators alike.

It was thanks to this that, despite years of fruitless research, the Tianhe City recording team survived to this day.

...

At that moment, a few disciples of the Path of Destiny were already skillfully manipulating a pile of jade slips. One disciple brought out a wooden box and arranged the slips neatly inside. Other disciples unfurled four enormous scrolls and suspended them from the inn’s beams, creating four screens that formed a square enclosure.

Everything was ready.

"Begin," Lin Xiu ordered as he set aside his greatsword and sat on a stool.

Several disciples immediately formed hand seals together. Streams of spiritual energy surged forth, enveloping the myriad jade slips.

Whoosh!

All the slips glowed with a faint halo and, combined, refracted a slender but growing beam of light onto the surrounding screens.

In the next instant, the scene of Tianhe City under the pitch-black night emerged vividly on the screens, lifelike and immersive.

Streets, mansions—everything appeared so real it felt as though one was truly there.

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"No wonder the Path of Destiny has such a reputation. This three-dimensional projection is far more realistic than any television," praised a cultivator, glancing toward Lin Xiu.

Lin Xiu waved it off with a smile. "You flatter us. This is all the work of the Celestial Armory Pavilion—we merely purchased their creation."

"That’s also thanks to Elder Wang’s keen eye. When this device first appeared, he was the first to buy it, claiming it was perfect for watching these records," the cultivator insisted on complimenting him.

Lin Xiu could only offer a polite, awkward laugh.

Meanwhile, movement had begun in the projected scene. Wisps of pale mist rolled over the darkened streets.

"Look, the Soul-Calming Night has begun," someone called out.

"Just watching this makes my skin crawl. Does anyone else feel inexplicably uneasy?"

"I do!"

"Where do you think those sinister beings come from? If we could discover their entry point and seal it off, Tianhe City would finally be safe."

"Dream on! Soul-Calming Night isn’t that simple. Don’t forget, the mortals of the city vanish mysteriously at night and reappear unharmed in the morning."

"True enough."

"Every Soul-Calming Night, the mortal residents and the newly awakened geniuses all disappear. Even afterward, none can recall what happened—they only remember falling asleep."

"Speaking of which, what happened to that genius Xu who awakened yesterday?"

"No idea. Anyway, our sect has already spread the word: we won’t be recruiting him."

"What a coincidence—our sect leader said the same."

"I envy you. Your sect leader has a good temper. Mine said if I bring Xu Zhe back, he’ll break my legs."

"Haha! Didn't you say yesterday that if you didn’t bring Xu Zhe back, your sect leader would expel you?"

"Ah, why ask the obvious? Everyone knows about mortal bloodlines."

The group chatted idly as they watched the records. Lin Xiu, sitting to the side, grew increasingly annoyed by the noise. The records had barely begun—just a bit of fog—and they were already chattering this much. If sinister beings appeared, they'd be even louder. He regretted agreeing to watch with them.

"Hey, Senior Lin, look! Last night, there were cultivators lingering in the city during Soul-Calming Night," a disciple suddenly exclaimed.

Everyone’s expression changed as they turned their gaze to the screen.

The scene was fixed on a quiet, empty street—right next to the Changyun Inn. Several female disciples from the Jade Pool Sect emerged cautiously from the inn, faces grim and eyes vigilant as they surveyed their surroundings.

The audience collectively drew a sharp breath.

"What’s going on?"

"The Jade Pool disciples actually stayed in the city last night?"

"I thought they left early, but they were here during Soul-Calming Night!"

"These disciples are probably doomed—already dead."

"This is no simple matter."

The room buzzed with speculation.

A disciple from the Path of Destiny sidled up to Lin Xiu and asked in a low voice, "Senior Lin, should we stop the screening?"

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"No need," Lin Xiu replied. "While this is strange, it isn’t of much real value. Besides..."

He suddenly raised his voice, "Besides, I’ve already promised everyone here that we’d watch these records together. If I were to stop now, wouldn’t that make me a man who goes back on his word?"

The crowd immediately applauded.

"Well said, Lin Xiu! You’re truly a man of principle."

"Lin Xiu keeps his word and never wavers—a model for us all!"

The flattery came in waves.

Lin Xiu waved it off with a laugh, denying the praise. Yet the audience never took their eyes off the screen.

On the projection, the Jade Pool disciples carefully exited the inn and headed straight for the city gates. Yet the gates were tightly sealed. No matter how hard they tried or what techniques they used, they couldn’t budge them an inch.

One even tried to fly over using a magical artifact, but was stopped by an older disciple.

To fly over the city gate in Tianhe City was tantamount to suicide under the city’s restrictive formation.

Seeing this, the audience shook their heads, silently lamenting the lack of intelligence in this generation of Jade Pool disciples.

"Senior Lin..." another Path of Destiny disciple cried out in alarm. "There’s someone else in the city last night—it looks like... it looks like Xu the genius!"

"What?" Lin Xiu’s expression changed as he sprang to his feet.

The crowd stared in shock, eyes wide and mouths agape.

Xu Zhe was also in Tianhe City last night?

Impossible. That couldn’t be.

Only cultivators had the right to enter during Soul-Calming Night. Mortals had no such privilege—they would vanish at night and reappear the next morning. Xu Zhe had only awakened yesterday; everyone present saw it for themselves. Not only did he have mortal blood, he hadn’t even begun cultivating—a true mortal.

How could he appear in Tianhe City during Soul-Calming Night?

"Quick, lock onto his image and project it," Lin Xiu ordered.

The disciple was already prepared. With a hand seal, he manipulated the jade slips, and another three-dimensional image appeared.

There, Xu Zhe stepped out of the Tower of Geniuses, standing in the street and looking around.

A sliver of moonlight fell upon him, illuminating his astonishingly handsome face.

Everyone present was shaken to the core.

So handsome! There was no mistake.

That was Xu Zhe, the genius Xu!

...

...

[In the blink of an eye, a new week has begun. Here’s an early update, mainly for recommendation votes.]