Chapter 21: The Forsaken Disciple of the Rising Moon Sect

Within the faint red clouds, he listened to the sound of the scriptures, feeling his consciousness gradually grow silent. When he finally came to himself and opened his eyes, the tearing sensation deep within his soul made him furrow his brow. This was a feeling he had never experienced in the vast wilderness where he once dwelled.

The pain in his body and the subtle aroma of flesh left him little time to ponder. He found that this body contained only scattered fragments of memory, and after absorbing them all, he was momentarily stunned.

Realm, tribulation?

A sense of foreboding welled up in his heart, prompting him to open his eyes and look around hurriedly. The instinctive fear lingering from the original host made the situation somewhat tricky.

Before him, in the sky, the tribulation clouds that had begun to dissipate were now brewing again, condensing anew. He understood well that it was because ‘he’ had been perceived as dead, causing the clouds to fade away bit by bit. But now, with the tribulation’s subject revived, the clouds would not depart so easily.

This tribulation was the final trial of the Treasure Body realm, known as the Soul Devouring Tribulation, targeting the soul itself. The cultivation methods of this world favored the physical body above all.

The previous host had failed to temper his soul adequately, unable to withstand this tribulation, which led to his demise and Redcloud’s arrival in this place.

Thinking this, he watched as a figure gradually formed within the tribulation clouds, approaching him step by step. He knew this was the manifestation of the soul-devouring force, formed from the devoured spirituality. His heart tightened.

As it began to merge with his body, Redcloud took a deep breath, his mind stirring, and he summoned all the tribulation power he could muster.

To cultivate the Yellow Court, one must endure tribulations, traverse myriad worlds, and master the tribulation for oneself…

With a low chant of scripture, a shadow resembling the Cauldron of Heaven and Earth appeared within his spirit.

Seeing this, Redcloud no longer hesitated. His soul embraced the cauldron's shadow and struck forcefully at the soul-devouring apparition that was now within reach.

Boom—

His body trembled, and the threatening soul-devourer was shattered entirely, transformed into pure soul energy that began to nourish Redcloud’s own soul.

In that moment, as the soul-devourer was dispersed, the tribulation clouds thinned considerably. After some time, they did not descend again, and finally faded away completely.

As the oppressive tribulation clouds vanished, a winding river appeared in their midst, manifesting a vision of a long river with a faintly visible bright moon.

This vision connected to the rivers below the Sun and Moon Gorge. A transparent orb descended from above, landing precisely between his brows.

After the orb fell, it melted instantly, enveloping his entire body in a crystalline sheen. Subtly, water patterns appeared on his skin, and a bright moon tattoo emerged on his back.

When the crystal glow had fully permeated his bones, he slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a turbid breath.

Between his brows, a faint crescent moon appeared.

Treasure Bottle Realm, the abandoned disciple of the Moon Surge Sect, Zhao Jingcheng…

Redcloud carefully sorted through the remnants of memory, his brows knitting together.

The cultivators of the Treasure Bottle Realm all pursue the path of physical immortality, with seven tiers of cultivation. The first five realms are Mortal, Precelestial, Condensation, Treasure Body, and Nirvana; the remaining realms were unknown to him.

In these five realms, Mortal and Precelestial focus on tempering the body, Condensation manipulates killing intent, Treasure Body forges a unique physical transformation, and Nirvana grants limb regeneration. Presumably, at the highest level, the physical body could shatter the void and hold up the heavens.

Based on Zhao Jingcheng's imagined progression, Redcloud roughly equated it to the Earth Immortal: such methods were common among Earth Immortal beings in small worlds, perhaps not even true Earth Immortals, merely comparable to Impure Immortals.

As for his fundamental purpose for arriving here: to acquire the tribulations of this realm…

There was no clear record of tribulations in Zhao Jingcheng’s knowledge.

The greatest conflict of this realm was between the human and demon clans, each warring to defend their territories.

The Sun and Moon Gorge marked the boundary: east belonged to humans, west to demons.

The gorge had for tens of thousands of years been guarded by two great sects, the Sunset Sect and the Moon Surge Sect, once jointly known as the Sun Moon Sect, the foremost sects in the Treasure Bottle Realm.

But when the sect’s founder fell to the demons, the sect split apart.

As for why he became an abandoned disciple… it was because the Grand Elder of the Moon Surge Sect had colluded with the demon clan!

Zhao Jingcheng, orphaned by the demon clan's slaughter of his family, grew up in hardship, vowing to slay demons. He was taken in by Elder Inviting Moon, his master, who treated him kindly, almost as a son, and shared his hatred of demons.

But unexpectedly, Elder Inviting Moon became the target of the Grand Elder’s jealousy, who secretly revealed her whereabouts to the demon clan. She was ambushed by three Nirvana-level demon cultivators.

Though Nirvana cultivators could regenerate their limbs, they were not without limits. Elder Inviting Moon, surrounded by three of equal strength, managed to kill one and seriously wound another, but was ultimately devoured, her remains obliterated.

Zhao Jingcheng discovered clues to this betrayal while collecting his master’s belongings, flew into a rage, and assassinated the Grand Elder’s only son, then embarked on a fugitive’s path.

To break through the Treasure Body realm, the sect’s method required him to reach Sun and Moon Gorge, so he had no choice but to venture once more into the lion’s den to forge his body.

No one could have predicted that, while evading pursuit and battling demons, he had already injured his foundation and failed to pass the Treasure Body tribulation, leading to his demise.

By a twist of fate, Redcloud thus arrived, becoming the abandoned disciple of the Moon Surge Sect, Zhao Jingcheng.

……

Now that he had broken through, it was imperative not to linger here. Whatever needed to be done, he must first leave Sun and Moon Gorge.

Redcloud recalled the commotion he had caused earlier, fearing it might attract unwanted attention, and resolved to depart swiftly.

He struggled to his feet, slung his crescent moon blade onto his back, and moved in the direction he had calculated beforehand.

After walking more than ten miles along the gorge, he sensed something amiss, looked up sharply, and saw a figure standing atop a distant mountain.

The figure paused, then leaped down the mountain, landing steadily. The tone was hard to read, whether it was praise or self-satisfaction:

“Zhao Jingcheng, I guessed long ago that with your talent, you would break through the Treasure Body realm within three years. I have waited here for you for two years and three months. I did not expect it to truly happen.”

Upon seeing this person, the residual memory made Redcloud’s body stiffen; he silently cursed trouble, yet remained vigilant and bowed in salute:

“Disciple Zhao Jingcheng greets Elder Shadow Moon.”