Cultivation Retirement Plan (BL)

battle bgm: bizarre

The summer leaves of the surrounding trees rustled with anxious whispers in the night. Only the light from the red lanterns illuminated the small courtyard, casting a hazy ring of yellow in front of the ancestral hall. The figure kneeling on top of the roof was dressed in black with head bowed, making it hard to see his features. But his moves were distinctive enough.

“Three Branches Sword Style,” Mo Yixuan muttered to himself. 

Thanks to his two months of leisure on Mt. Jingting, he had finally gotten time to read up on the cultivation world and some of its history. The story went that a group of renegade sword fanatics had broken away from their various sects to pursue the path of sword Dao together, ultimately establishing the Iridescent Radiance Sect in the western region of the Middle Realms. While other sects chased heavenly wisdom or paths to immortality, the IRS was content to watch and reign over the present world. In that way, their secular mindset was very similar to Star Pavilion’s Four Peaks Alliance. 

Their Three Branches Sword Style focused on the principle of Law and its practical applications in the battlefield. Each of the branches were respectively named Ruler, Executor, and Judge. Ruler created new laws that could take immediate effect in a fight, Executor upheld and maintained current rules, and Judge possessed the power to evaluate and veto pre-existing scenarios.

Such as Nan Wuyue’s Extended Net formation.

Mo Yixuan’s palm moved to steady his disciple by the shoulder as he caught his breath. They had agreed beforehand to let Nan Wuyue set up the array that could trap the ghost, firstly because it was good training, secondly so Mo Yixuan could be free to fight off any resistance. It had been smooth sailing until this interloper barged into the scene. His cultivation level was obviously high enough to injure Nan Wuyue; fortunately, the array drew on its own structure and mysteries to supplement its strength, thus managing to survive the first attack instead of dissipating entirely.

With the array interrupted mid-cast, Nan Wuyue had to gather his qi again to take control of it and guide it towards the ground. But the sword currently stabbed into the Extended Net was disrupting the normal flow of energy, making it impossible for him to reclaim the web without risking damage. Within it, the ghost girl continued to pray while the mass of demonic energy pulsed as a cloud around her, watching and waiting.

“Shizun,” Nan Wuyue managed with some effort, “Get him...off.”

Mo Yixuan raised his voice at the man overhead. “These are Su Clan grounds.”

“So what are you doing here?” the stranger retorted. “Get lost.”

Mo Yixuan’s eyes narrowed. “If you’re here to help Lady Bai, then we’re on the same side.”

“Help? With an array like this, you’re obviously trying to send that ghost to the Netherworld,” the stranger spat. “Don’t even think about it.”

“We’re not—” Mo Yixuan tried to explain, but the other only stabbed his sword deeper into the net of stars, making its form dim and weaken.

In the cultivation world, there were two usual ways of dealing with threats: talking them down or beating them up. Obviously, their first option wasn’t working out so well.  

Tsk.

Abruptly, Mo Yixuan took to the skies and slashed towards the man on the roof, who let go of his sword to backflip out of the way. The peak lord dove towards the fleeing figure, only to swerve to one side as a metal chain came flying at his face. 

A second weapon?

Mo Yixuan swiped at the chain with a sharp clang that sent the metal links lashing around the body of his blade. Expecting this, he tugged back harshly to drag its owner towards him, but the man resisted by the balls of his feet and growled out a second command.

“The Ruler decrees this constriction Binding!”

A pulse of energy traveled up the chain as Mo Yixuan felt his fingers tighten convulsively around his sword hilt as if glued there by force. At the same time, two more chains silently flew out from his opponent’s sleeves to aim for Mo Yixuan’s shoulders. If not for the visual assistance of Ghost, Mo Yixuan would have barely caught their movements in the dark. He swung his sword with all his might, using the chain attached to it like a whip to knock the two projectiles off course.

He hit one but missed the other as his opponent suddenly pulled taut on the other end, rendering the chain connecting them immobile. Annoyed, Mo Yixuan moved to close the distance but was instantly met with an invisible wall as the enemy laid down one more rule.

“The Executor decrees spacing no less than three meters apart!”

You know what, I hate this sword style, Mo Yixuan decided as he was frozen from approaching any closer.

On the ground, Nan Wuyue was dealing with his own problems. The demonic qi sensed that things were busy up top and wanted to make a break for it. The walls of the ancestral hall were protected by generations of blessings and prayers to prevent the clouded mass from simply slipping through the building, so its only exit was the one-foot gap between the net and the ground in front of the hall’s front entrance. But as soon as it stuck a tendril past, Nan Wuyue slashed at it with his sword.

The black mass shied back at the touch before darting forward again, to which Nan Wuyue slashed once more without mercy. It curled back on itself and poofed up indignantly, cradled the cut section like a wounded limb. The sight was almost comical, but Nan Wuyue didn’t dare to lower his guard. As expected, the demonic qi suddenly made a break for it, forcing the young disciple to execute a series of quick strikes to beat it back into the array.

They were going to be at it for a while.

Up top, Mo Yixuan was considering his options. Three restrictions were now in place: one to arrest the formation of the sealing array against the ghost, one to bind his hand to his own weapon, and the last to prevent him from getting any closer to his opponent. From what he read of the Three Branches Sword Style, only one Law at a time from each of the Ruler, Executor, and Judge roles could be active on the battlefield; any new rules would automatically replace the old. A skilled cultivator could find ways to limit his opponents while giving himself the clearest advantages; then when the opponents grew used to the playing field, change the rules again to suit himself.

For a sword style centered around law and order, it sure liked to cheat others. 

“No introductions?” he asked the mysterious man who had covered half of his face behind a cloth mask, only revealing a pair of narrowed eyes.

“I could say the same for you,” the other retorted. Thanks to Ghost’s effects, all he could see of Mo Yixuan’s features were a blur.

“Ouyang Che, Star Pavilion Sect.” Mo Yixuan tossed out his senior brother’s name with no compunctions.

“Never heard of him.”

“Haven’t left home much.”

“Should’ve stayed back this time too.”

As they talked, they moved around the roof, always keeping the requisite three meters apart. Mo Yixuan had tried to lure the enemy away from the seal array a few times, but the other was determined to stay within arm’s reach of his sword. At present it was the peak lord at a disadvantage. With no apparent ranged weapons to his name, he could only dodge the stranger’s other two chains while being kept at a distance. Their latest stepping game ended with them standing on opposite ends of the roof above the ancestral hall, with the center of the seal array and the sword stabbed into it equal distance between them.

“You’re not giving your name?” Mo Yixuan asked.

“I can offer it at your grave if you’d like.”

“Thanks, but I wouldn’t want you to visit,” the peak lord rejected before barking at his disciple, “Release the array!”

Nan Wuyue only had a second of surprise before he immediately stabbed his sword into the Extended Net. Without concerns for maintaining its form, it was easy enough to sever the weakened connections of qi intertwined in its structure. As the net began shattering to pieces, Mo Yixuan leaped towards its center, his free hand reaching for the hilt of the sword still stuck at its ceiling. His actions automatically drove his opponent to stumble in the opposite direction against his will.

The Executor’s law of staying three meters apart was still in effect!

“You—!” the man sputtered, before snapping out, “Tch, Executor, Motion Dismissed!”

Mo Yixuan felt his fingers finally relax their death grip on his sword hilt. Grinning to himself, he flung the weapon at Cheater Pants even as his other hand claimed his opponent’s blade. The Iridescent Radiance cultivator was forced to fling his chain aside to avoid the incoming stab before giving hot pursuit.

Down below, the cloud of demonic qi sensed that it was free and instantly surged towards the ghost girl, once again wrapping her tightly in a veil of black. By now she’d finished praying and was slowly climbing to her feet. Nan Wuyue caught a glimpse of a beautiful face with almond-shaped eyes before it was obscured behind hazy darkness. He glanced up and saw Mo Yixuan still exchanging blows with their enemy mid-air in a clash of sword and chains. 

“Shizun, she’s going to get away!” he reminded him.

Mo Yixuan danced between two sets of chains while the third held tight to his training sword and brandished it against him like an extra arm. He’d learned enough during this brief spar to roughly profile his adversary: young, clear-headed, yet also impulsive. Although later conversation had yielded nothing, the man had already exposed his thoughts when they first clashed. He assumed Mo Yixuan and his disciple were here to get rid of the ghost with their seal array.

So then, the next action to take is…

“Direct talisman!” he barked to Nan Wuyue.

Like Mo Yixuan, Nan Wuyue had prepared his own set of sealing talismans against the ghost as backup. They hadn’t planned to apply these directly to the spirit unless absolutely necessary, as something so strong carried the risk of vaporizing the spirit instantly into the Netherworld on contact. For Mo Yixuan to order that now was contradictory to his earlier prudence and had to mean…

Bait!

Nan Wuyue whipped out a strip of yellow paper covered in archaic symbols and went straight for the ghost girl’s head. Seeing this, the masked stranger threw out an aggressive bolt of qi through his chains to knock Mo Yixuan back, then dove down to stop the attack. Mo Yixuan simply stopped to watch the show. As a peak lord of a major sect, his cultivation level easily surpassed his opponent, to say nothing of Ye Xinglin’s consummate sword techniques backing him up. But if he were to beat down the other in a second, he wouldn’t learn half as much about his state of mind or personality. Since they were here for a mission, it was better to do things prudently even if it took more effort. 

Nan Wuyue instantly raised his weapon to block as the masked man landed in front of the ghost girl to slash at him. The sudden movement seemed to finally elicit some reaction from the ghost, who paused and slowly raised her head. It was impossible to see her expression cloaked in the cloud of demonic qi, but she seemed to sway on her feet.

In terms of cultivation levels, the stranger ranked higher than Nan Wuyue, but the latter was a latent genius when it came to training with 10 years of extra battle experience. He managed to hold his own against the three chains, one of which was stabbing with Mo Yixuan’s sword. 

Above them, the peak lord in question shifted his gaze to the ghost girl after witnessing her abnormal reaction, frowning as the cloud of demonic qi around her suddenly started writhing like water coming to a boil. Yet as he descended to confront her, the qi surged up towards him, determined to drown him beneath its waves. Left in its place was a ghostly teen with long black hair dressed in a pale pink gown. Her delicate features seemed in a midst of a struggle as her expression wavered between confusion and rage.

At the same time a chain landed a lucky glance against Nan Wuyue’s knuckles, causing his sword grip to slacken from the pain. The masked man spotted the slip at once and aimed a well placed kick to knock the weapon out of Nan Wuyue’s hand. The disciple privately cursed before bracing himself for the next attack, but the ghost girl moved first as she opened her mouth and screamed.

Ghosts might not be able to channel qi or use abilities they possessed while alive, but they were naturally filled with the aura of the dead. In large doses, such ambience of death could be quite damaging to the living. The sudden, screeching shockwaves sent Nan Wuyue staggering back as his internal energy was sent into chaos while the airborne Mo Yixuan deftly distanced himself from the awful soundwaves. The masked man had the worst of it after taking the attack full on. With veins popping from his forehead and teeth clenched in pain, he whirled back to face the ghost with accusation in his eyes.

And promptly froze in his tracks.

“Why do—augh!” His sentence ended in a cry of pain as the ghost suddenly unleashed a savage punch at his stomach. There was no sign of her movements at all, only a flicker and then the sudden, brutal pain. In the aftermath, the masked man quickly backed away from his assailant.

“Why did you turn careless?” Nan Wuyue couldn’t help mocking him as he fell into a defensive stance. “Forget it, just help us trap this ghost again.”

“Don’t you touch her!” the man snapped.

“Are you blind? She’s mixed up with demonic qi, it’s obvious she doesn’t have good inten—”

“AhhhHHHHHHHHHHhhhhH!”

Another scream filled the air, forcibly ending their conversation. The next second, the ghost girl lunged towards the masked man with her arms extended, hands brandishing sharp nails! The man quickly backed away, but the ghost kept up the chase until the pair passed right by Nan Wuyue. His pupils dilated as he caught a distinctive scent in that instant.

This smell...I know it from somewhere.

Earthy and vaguely dark, paired with a metallic edge. His mind quickly flipped through mental references before it settled on a recent memory.

A summer day in an elegant guest hall. At the head of the room, a man appearing in his late thirties with a shock of white hair greeted them with a formal bow. When Su Shiyu had bent forward, a faint breeze rippled through his robes, carrying the faintest hint of bloodthirstiness to Nan Wuyue’s nostrils. It had surprised him then, causing him to be a beat late when his master bowed back.

Why do Su Shiyu and the ghost both carry the same scent?

Yet he quickly pushed the thought aside when he saw the ghost about to reach the stranger’s neck! Her previous scream and the fatigue of battle had combined to slow him down.

Not good! Nan Wuyue was rushing forward even though he knew he’d never make it in time.

Luckily, his master did.

Moments before sharpened claws closed around exposed skin, a blur slammed into the masked man and kicked him straight into a wall.

Mo Yixuan took his place and struck out with his stolen sword, causing the ghost girl to instinctively shrink back. She blinked before a terrible clarity came into her eyes, upon which she turned tail and fled with a wail. A few seconds later, a much smaller and sluggish cloud of demonic qi chased after her until they merged as one black mass that vanished into the night. Mo Yixuan stopped Nan Wuyue before he could give chase.

“She’ll be back,” he was confident. “Let’s deal with the aftermath for now.”

Voices and lights had started to filter their way. It was obvious that the ghost’s screams had woken up the rest of the Su household by now. Mo Yixuan walked to the figure sprawled against the wall with Nan Wuyue trailing behind. By now, the dark cloth mask had slid off his face, revealing a fine, straight nose and full lips beneath the cold slate eyes and sharp brows. In an instant, the aggressive attacker they’d been fighting was revealed as a handsome young man who looked to be in his late teens. He looked on sullenly as Mo Yixuan held up the sword in his hands.

“I’m returning this,” Mo Yixuan placed the weapon at the Daoist’s feet. “A little too hard to handle for my tastes.”

The young man only gave him a withering look before tugging at his chain. The training sword wrapped around its end was tossed neatly into the air, where Mo Yixuan caught and sheathed it back into its scabbard.

The next second, there was a small commotion as the first group of people rushed onto the scene: Lady Bai with a contingent of retainers from the main house. Ting’er, as Mo Yixuan’s sharp eyes picked out, was noticeably absent. The rest of the servants behind her exchanged panicked, uneasy looks as they took in the partially destroyed courtyard. 

“What’s going on, why was there a scream?” Bai Tingyao cried as she half-ran in Mo Yixuan’s direction. “D-Daoist Mo, is that you? Oh dear me, look at that wall! What happened, were we attac—” Her voice cut off abruptly as she spotted the slumped figure next to him.

“Shizun…” Nan Wuyue’s voice began, but he quickly shut up. Now wasn’t the time to speak.

“My apologies, we had unexpected guests,” Mo Yixuan swept his eye over the crowd of people while explaining carefully. “This is one of them, an Iridescent Radiance Sect disciple.”

“I know who he is,” Bai Tingyao said in an odd tone.

“Then you can introduce us,” Mo Yixuan’s tone was dry. “I couldn’t get a name out of him at all.”

Bai Tingyao pursed her lips, suddenly turning serious. Mo Yixuan also observed that the unmasked man was subtly trying to look away without much success. If they know each other, is he another cultivator come to aid the Su Clan? Were they keeping this a secret from Nan Wuyue and myself?

But Lady Bai only dropped a bombshell.

“Really, Mengmeng!" she huffed, "Did those sect elders not teach you any manners?! These people are our guests!”

—

Three Realms and Netherworld

Star Pavilion Sect

Iridescent Radiance Sect (IRS)