Ji Yuan’s request was a little unexpected, but at the same time, Wei Wuwei was relieved. Although he had been instructed to bring up their previous topic by the masters of Yuhuai Mountain, he had been quite afraid of making Mr. Ji unhappy.

This joke was clearly Mr Ji being considerate, or at least showing that he held no grudges against them — otherwise, his irritation would have been clear to see.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Ji. Today is the first day of the first month of the Lunar New Year. We were a bit rushed to come back yesterday, and couldn’t find some of the ingredients to make some of the dishes at home, which was disappointing. Today is the perfect time for a feast!”

Shang Yiyi and Guan He exchanged a glance. Uncle Wei was still not satisfied with everything that happened yesterday? There were more dishes last night than they could even name.

Wei Wuwei smiled confidently. When it came to meticulous food preparation, he was confident that the Wei family’s team would be no less impressive than the imperial kitchen.

The sheer power of more than a dozen famous chefs came together to prepare Wei family residence’s dishes. Each had their own assistants, bringing the total number of staff on the food preparation team to at least thirty or forty people, occupying a kitchen the size of a mansion.

Various cooking methods were used, including steaming, boiling, deep-frying, and stir-frying, and some dishes had even been simmering over a low heat since the previous day.

With Ji Yuan’s arrival, Wei Wuwi even personally went to the kitchen to supervise the preparation for a while.

They had a casual conversation over snacks at noon, but by dusk, Ji Yuan could already smell the rich, nearly irresistible aroma of food in the Wei family residence.

That night, the entire Wei family residence had been turned into a banquet hall, and guests and servants alike ate to their hearts content, leaving the immortal cultivators in awe of these mortal delights. The hundreds of dishes were exquisite, elevating cooking itself to an art form.

That night, the banquet did not end until the Haishi hour,1 quite late for the members of the Wei family. Furthermore, most of the guests had stayed up past midnight yesterday, so with how tired they all were, everyone went to rest.

Ji Yuan had been assigned a separate guest house in the back of the residence. There were four rooms, two on each side of the courtyard. Guan He and Shang Yiyi each occupied a room on the left, while Ji Yuan stayed across from them, separated by a courtyard with a few flowers and plants.

From midnight to when the first rays of the sun began to shine, Shang Yiyi and Guan He were both cultivating in their rooms.

Ji Yuan, however, felt neither inclined to cultivate nor to sleep.

Earlier that day, he had heard from the group that had descended Yuhuai Mountain about their master’s instructions. Just as mortals strive for opportunities, so too did the Immortal Realm, each seeking a share of this elusive fortune. If they were ascribing this fortune directly to Ji Yuan, the so-called Tianji Pavilion Singular Divination might not have been entirely calculated correctly.

Or perhaps… Perhaps, this was something that Tianji Pavilion didn’t know. After Pei Zheng returned to the Yuhuai Mountain sect, following the hexagram’s pattern and combining it with recent events in Dazhen, he had formed an independently-deduced hypothesis.

While it should be impossible to glimpse the calamity that would unfold in heaven and earth, they might have glimpsed a vague understanding of Ji Yuan’s role in the unique dynamic. However, their understanding was superficial, perceiving only a single opportunity, but unaware of the profound horrors and risks at the extremities.

From some conversations he had participated in during the day, Ji Yuan also learned that many of Yuhuai Mountain’s immortals were becoming less reclusive. With the Dragon Lord having reconciled with Yuhuai, one of their major worries had been alleviated.

Coupled with the hexagram of Tianji Pavilion, Yuhuai Mountain believed that now was the time to seize their fortune. Many immortal cultivators had begun to emerge from seclusion, bringing their disciples with them. Their movements were not limited to Dazhen, but rather they were traveling all throughout the Eastern Cloud Continent, gaining experiences while also recruiting talented disciples.

By Ji Yuan’s previous logic, he might have felt that the situation in the Eastern Cloud Continent, beyond that of Dazhen which he knew well, was a chaotic mess, with demons, monsters, immortals, gods, and even humans all mixed together.

The series of events that had been happening in Dazhen also led Ji Yuan to believe that a darkness hung over the Eastern Cloud Continent, and perhaps even the entire world beyond Dazhen.

However, Master Pei of Yuhuai Mountain’s visit to Tianji Pavilion, and the immense effort the pavilion put into this divination, suddenly made Ji Yuan think deeper about it.

After all, this was not some world depicted in a TV drama. No matter how much individual inertia in the world tended towards inaction, everyone had desires. No matter how ruthless people were, everyone had fears. Mortals had grudges and hatreds, but immortals and gods didn’t. The complex interlacing web of emotions unfolding across the vast expanse of the realm was normal. Perhaps it was even more complex on other continents and regions.

Ji Yuan felt that he, a so-called chess player, couldn’t truly read the board of this world, let alone control it.

This thought didn’t make him feel particularly depressed, but it inevitably led to a little disappointment.

“Creeeak…”

With the gentle sound of wooden hinges, Ji Yuan opened the door.

The moonlight from outside filtered through the gradually widening crack of the door, illuminating Ji Yuan’s face, and spreading out over the entire space in front of the door.

In Ji Yuan’s blurred vision, he could see a courtyard covered in dead grass and withered flowers, with a thin layer of snow. When he looked up at the sky, his sight immediately became clearer.

As if sensing its master’s restless mood, the Green Vine Sword, which had been leaning against the bed, flew over from across the room.

This time, the immortal sword did not hang quietly behind Ji Yuan as usual, but flew directly in front of him.

Seeing the immortal sword flying towards him, Ji Yuan subconsciously stretched out his right hand and grabbed it.

“Buzzz…”

The Green Ivy Sword trembled slightly, and the green vines on the scabbard and hilt became even more lush and green. The immortal sword was not only unparalleled in sharpness, but also absorbed the energy of the incoming springtime. The new spring vitality in the sword was overflowing, as if trying to raise the spirits of its master.

“This three-foot green blade conceals murderous intent yet also harbors life, just like the succession of Yin and Yang, just like the black and white chess pieces on a board…”

Ji Yuan held the sword and walked into the courtyard. With a slight turn of his palm, the tip of the scabbard slowly pointed downwards.

The moment the scabbard touched a leafless flower stem, it felt as though the tip were gently touching the surface of some water, sending a faint, invisible ripple throughout the object. Invigorated by the spring energy of the Green Vine Sword, the flower quickly sprouted new leaves and stems. In just a few breaths, it had formed three new buds, each poised to bloom.

“All things yearn to rise higher. Even this withered branch, upon sensing the springtime air, instinctively spreads its branches to welcome the season’s arrival. But the flowers will not bloom in the bitter cold months; only in the coming spring will they fully flourish. A single moment of beauty is inevitably fleeting.”

Ji Yuan murmured to himself, with a hint of self-deprecation on his face.

“I still understand too little about this world. I do not understand how the pieces are played. Yet if a piece is never played, how can a game ever be completed…”

Ji Yuan’s soliloquy was an attempt to encourage himself. Many saw him as a carefree and unrestrained master, but none were aware that he too had fears, and could succumb to certain things. Some he could speak of, while others he wouldn’t even dare to admit to himself.

Ji Yuan had long wanted to explore the world outside of Dazhen. However, besides the fact that the fate of the human world in Dazhen had yet to become clear, he was also held back by a fear of the unknown.

‘It’s so similar to my previous life. When I was a child, my ambitions were sky-high, but as I grew older and experienced the hardships of society, my spirit faded. How familiar this is!’

Now, Dazhen’s national destiny was becoming clearer. While Ji Yuan’s cultivation might not match that of the supreme immortal that outsiders considered him to be, in all honesty, after more than a decade of practice, though his spiritual powers might not be all that profound, some unique extraordinary abilities had begun to emerge. With the Green Vine Sword by his side, his abilities were quite impressive.

‘Thinking of it another way: there’s no need to put too much pressure on myself, and no need to seek to understand everything. I should just go out and explore, and experience the magnificent world of mountains and rivers from all walks of life in all directions! ’

At this thought, Ji Yuan smiled again. Just then, he happened to hear movement and looked up. Guan He had pushed his door open and come out, and there were noises coming from Shang Yiyi’s room as well.

He had been about to ask “Why aren’t you resting?” but before he could open his mouth, he suddenly found that the sky was getting brighter, and the sound of roosters crowing could be heard in the distance. Unconsciously, the whole night had passed.

Seeing Ji Yuan standing in the courtyard, longsword in hand, Guan He quickly bowed with cupped hands.

“Good morning, Mr. Ji!”

“Good morning!”

Ji Yuan looked at him, nodded, and returned to his room. This boy had finally grown up; he was much more polite now than when he was little.

Seeing Ji Yuan leave and close the door, Guan He walked into the courtyard a little curious.

“Brother, what are you doing?”

Shang Yiyi’s voice came from behind, but Guan He didn’t look back.

“Come and see, there is a flower that is about to bloom.”

Shang Yiyi took a few steps closer when she heard the words, and sure enough, in front of Guan He was a lush, leafy flower with bulging buds.

This scene would not be strange in the Yuhuai Holy Land, given the different environment. But here, since it wasn’t a winter flower, this could only have been caused by a supernatural technique.

“Mr. Ji did it.”

Guan He explained concisely.

“Oh.”

In the end, the duo’s cultivation and Taoism were limited, so after glancing at it, they weren’t particularly impressed. If a master from Yuhuai Mountain were present, they would have noticed that this flower had not been forced to bloom by some wood spiritual Qi, but rather had grown naturally, emanating the gentle energy of spring.

Furthermore, this spring energy wasn’t simply the swirling Qi found in the clouds of the New Year: it was the essence of vitality refined within the Green Vine Sword. It was also a manifestation of the enlightenment Ji Yuan had gained overnight, revealing and distilling his state of mind. This was vastly different from the auspicious omen that night in Prince Jin’s palace.

Ji Yuan bid farewell to Wei Wuwei and the others after breakfast. It was clear that the entire Wei family residence, both mortals and immortals, were quite reserved in his presence. He didn’t really care whether or not he celebrated the full New Year; this experience was enough, so he took his leave.

It was a sunny winter day, the sun high in the sky. Its light shimmered throughout every corner of the Wei Mansion.

After Ji Yuan left, two servants from the Wei family came to clean the guest quarters.

“Hey, hey, look, this rose is about to bloom!”

“Huh! Really!”

The two people carrying wooden buckets, towels, and other items walked out of the corridor and approached the flower in the garden to take a closer look. Under the sunlight, the cluster of flower buds had expanded a lot, obviously about to bloom.

1. 亥时 (hàishí): 9-11PM. Every time they say “really late” and then these times I keep feeling like my horrible sleep schedule has been unintentionally roasted.