The Science of Cultivation [Xianxia]

Chapter 190: Official Missive

Li Lang followed the man in red and black robes as he mulled over the situation. He had just been shopping for Qi beasts when Tai Xilun approached him with a message from Nightmoon Valley that completely bewildered him.

He had no idea what the reason behind this missive was. In the grand scheme of things, he was just the tiniest of fish within the pond that was known as the Violet Isles. He believed there was nothing remarkable about him that could’ve drawn the attention of the de facto leader of the demonic cultivators.

He may have been friends with Sima Xue who had tremendous standing within Nightmoon Valley, but this premier organization should’ve been professional enough to keep their member’s personal life away from official business.

A missive sounds too formal. It shouldn’t be from Sima Xue, but then who? The only other person I am acquainted with is Jian Beiyun, but this doesn’t seem like something he’d do either.

Tai Xilun continued to guide the young man without knowing his actions had caused him to fret. He walked facing forward, always with perfect posture. The two soon made their way out of the public area of the bazaar and into the private area of the Bloodwave Conclave. The two separate zones were divided by a small security checkpoint manned by a Foundation Establishment disciple of the conclave.

“Senior Tai,” the guard called out and nodded respectfully. He only gave Li Lang a cursory glance before standing back at attention. He knew better than to question their head disciple about his guests.

Bloodwave Conclave’s base was built inside the walls on the edge of Emberglow City. It was essentially an underground base with low ceilings, but every few paces hung a chandelier with the same orange crystal seen outside to illuminate the corridors.

Once they stepped further in, the ground was even adorned with velvet red carpets that looked brand new.

“So, I heard you ventured into Polarity City recently. How was it?” Tai Xilun asked without looking back.

“Um, it was my first time attending an auction, so there were a lot of things I’d never seen before.”

“Hmm, I still remember my first time there. It felt weird peacefully sitting around those righteous hypocrites, but it was also eye-opening. It’s a necessary experience for young people like you.”

“Then—if I may ask. How come Huang Si and other disciples of the Bloodwave Conclave weren’t there? I may have missed them with so many people, but I didn’t see a single person wearing your conclave’s robes.”n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

“Huang Si has been there before. I’m not clear as to why the others didn’t attend, as that is their respective master’s business, but I assume most of them are still digesting their gains from the pocket realm. There are many things one needs to do both before and after breaking into the Foundation Establishment Realm.”

“Hmm, any particulars I should know about? My friend, Long Yi, had just broken through recently.”

“I know.”

This prompt response caused Li Lang to slow down his steps. Long Yi had just broken through before they immediately headed here. There was no way news traveled that fast, even if his students leaked the news. That left him with the possibility that people had been monitoring them.

Sensing Li Lang lagging behind, Tai Xilun turned around but didn’t say anything. It was as if he knew what was going to come out of Li Lang’s mouth next and was only waiting for it.

“Senior—Where did you hear the news?”

“Before your thoughts wander, just know that a breakthrough is a very special occasion for any cultivator. Such a huge event would naturally alert everyone within several miles if you didn’t set up a formation ahead of time to contain it. I presume every organization based in the city knows about the recent breakthrough. Then it would only take a little investigating to know who it was.”

His words made Li Lang think back at the time his acquaintances had experienced their breakthroughs back in the pocket realm. Tai Xilun had been correct. Back then, their respective organizations guarded them outside and had erected a barrier around them.

Li Lang had thought it was just a part of their security measure against any nefarious parties who wanted to interrupt the breakthrough. Evidently, there was more to it.

We should be more mindful next time. We need to start considering the possibility of someone monitoring us. Better safe than sorry.

The trio hadn’t thought they had done anything to draw that much attention aside from those assailants who had ambushed them. Even then, they believed they would be focusing on their actual targets from the Eroding March Pavillion and not them.

“You can think about it later,” Tai Xilun called out. “Let’s go. You have people waiting for you, right?”

Ushered by the stoic expert, the two resumed their journey. They passed by several other onlookers who curiously glanced at Li Lang, but they didn’t take any detours. They soon arrived inside a grand hall where three figures stood.

Li Lang expected them to be elders of the Bloodwave Conclave because a missive from a large organization would likely be treated seriously. However, contrary to his expectation, he soon realized the three people there had youthful complexions. The skin was smooth and full of collagen.

Tai Xilun didn’t bother to wait for Li Lang’s analysis and approached the three cultivators. He clasped his fist toward them politely.

“Elders, I’ve brought Li Lang.”

Right. Experts can control their appearance. No—to be more precise, Foundational Establishment Realm experts maintain the appearance they had when they had broken through. But these elders should at least be in the Violet Core Realm. Does that mean cultivators in that realm can control their looks?

I know too little about this realm. Li Lang sighed.

“Is something the matter?” the elder in the middle asked with a kind smile.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I’m honored to be invited by your esteemed conclave. My name is Li Lang.”

“I know you young people are always in a rush, so we’ll cut to the chase. We’re here to give you a formal invitation from Nightmoon Valley.”

A letter suddenly appeared in the elder’s hand. He gently flicked it toward Li Lang, causing the piece of paper to float over to him with precision.

“An invitation?” Li Lang parroted.

“That’s correct. You’ve been invited to visit their Nightshade Valley, and we’ve agreed to take you there. You can read the details from the missive if you want, but we would appreciate it if you could give us a date when you could set off as soon as possible.”

Li Lang quickly read over the letter in question, skimming past the flowery words of greetings. It was only a page, so he finished in no time, but he didn’t learn anything new. It didn’t include the reason for the invitation and just included instructions on how to reach their valley.

It caused Li Lang to wear a troubled face.

“Speak your mind, child. Things often resolve much faster that way.”

“Umm, do any of you happen to know the reason for this invite? The missive doesn’t say anything about that.”

“We’re not sure either,” the female elder to the left replied. “But we do have our suspicions. The timing coincides with your friend’s breakthrough, so it may have something to do with that.”

“We can’t say for sure, though,” Tai Xilun chimed in. “We’re just the messengers here. We created the missive word for word, so we don’t know much more than you do. You’ll have to find out from Nightmoon Valley yourself.”

Long Yi’s breakthrough has caused me specifically to be invited? How can this be?

“Just to be clear. Only I am invited?”

“That’s correct,” the central elder replied.

Well, it’s not like I can bring Long Yi anyway. Otherwise, we’d have to bring all the kids and there’s no way I’m going to do that. Long Yi will have to look after them. But still, why can’t people just leave me alone? I’d like to focus on my cultivation for once.

“I assume declining isn’t an option, right?”

Tai Xilun snorted. “You’re free to do as you see fit, but realize that this is Nightmoon Valley courteously inviting you. If they’re persistent in seeing you, don’t say I didn’t warn you when they take a more forceful approach.”

“Now, now, Xilun. No need to scare our guest here,” the female elder placated before turning to Li Lang. “Forgive him for exaggerating a little, but I advise you to accept the offer. Nightmoon Valley is renowned for its integrity. If you’ve done nothing wrong, there’s nothing to fear from them.”

While Li Lang was familiar with how Nightmoon Valley was seen as the peacekeepers of the Luminescent Domain, he was still reluctant to be summoned at their whims. However, for the sake of his peaceful life, he slowly nodded.

“How long will the trip take?”

“With my Skyrunner, it’ll only take half a day,” Tai Xilun answered.

“Very well, we can leave—tomorrow morning, then. I want to get this over with.”

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