Courtyard House: Time Traveler Not Yet a Ghost

The lingering power of the eighty-one tribulations of the Nascent Soul Transformation Lightning finally dissipated completely, and the sky returned to its clear state, as if the devastating scene just moments before was merely a dream. He Damin stood in mid-air, his tattered robes swaying gently in the calming mountain breeze. Though his body bore scorch marks, his aura was as deep as the sea and as ethereal as the clouds. Refining the Spirit to Return to Emptiness, achieving the initial stage of Nascent Soul Transformation, he had broken through two major barriers in one fell swoop, and his cultivation of both body and spirit had entered a completely new realm.

With a slight thought, he retrieved the "Voyager 7" flying saucer, which had been hovering above his head, shimmering with light and brimming with energy, back into his inner world. This strange creation from the starry sea was now connected to his mind and body, becoming his greatest contributor to surviving his near-death experience and an unexpected bonus.

Her gaze fell upon the solitary peak dozens of miles away. Ma Xiaoling still stood there, her figure appearing exceptionally frail against the backdrop of the vast天地 (heaven and earth), the thousand-year-old peach wood sword in her hand hanging limply at her side, her face a mixture of shock, bewilderment, and lingering vigilance. The two earth-shattering tribulations, especially the latter's terrifying power far exceeding her comprehension, and the "iron bird" that suddenly appeared and disappeared, had completely shattered all her previous judgments.

He Damin moved slightly, and in the next instant, he appeared ten feet in front of Ma Xiaoling as if by teleportation. His speed was so fast that Ma Xiaoling's pupils suddenly contracted, and she subconsciously took half a step back, raising her sword to her chest. "Miss Ma, there's no need to be nervous," He Damin said, his voice calm, with a hint of warmth after just surviving a calamity. "I was forced by circumstances just now and had no time to say more. As for the so-called 'ghostly aura' on my body, it was caused by practicing a special technique and wielding a magical artifact related to the reincarnation of the soul. It was definitely not due to possession or demonic possession. The previous misunderstanding is understandable."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding mountains where the violent energy fluctuations still lingered: "This place has undergone a tribulation of lightning, and the energy is chaotic. The commotion was so great that it has probably alerted the surrounding area for hundreds of miles. Other cultivators or extraordinary individuals may have come to investigate. If we were to talk here, it might cause complications."

Ma Xiaoling pursed her lips, looking at He Damin with a complex expression. His aura was upright and dignified, blending seamlessly with heaven and earth, and indeed, there was no trace of evil spirit about him, so the explanation made sense. Recalling the terrifying strength he had displayed during the tribulation lightning, as well as that incredible "iron bird," most of the hostility in her heart had already dissipated, replaced by a strong curiosity and a trace of awe.

"Who...who are you?" Ma Xiaoling finally asked in a hoarse voice.

"He Damin, a humble cultivator with some fortuitous encounters," He Damin replied simply. He glanced at the sky; the afternoon sun was slanting, and there was still some time. "I have a simple, secluded place for cultivation deep in the Yanshan Mountains, which is fairly hidden and safe. If Miss Ma has nothing else to discuss, would you mind coming here for a chat? Firstly, it would clear up the misunderstanding we just had; secondly, I also have some questions about the cultivation world and about the war of that year, which I would like to ask the esteemed disciple of the Ma family for guidance."

His tone was sincere, his posture humble, and he didn't try to intimidate her. Ma Xiaoling hesitated for a moment. Go to the "lair" of a strange, powerful stranger with whom she had just fought so fiercely and whose background was unfathomable? The risk was considerable. But if the other party truly harbored ill intentions, given the strength he had displayed, capturing or killing her now wouldn't be difficult. Moreover, she had too many questions that needed answering—the terrifying lightning tribulation, the strange "iron bird," the bizarre nature of this person's cultivation, and the "magical artifact involving the reincarnation of the soul" he mentioned…

Ultimately, curiosity about the truth outweighed her wariness. She nodded, sheathed the peach wood sword, and put the dimly lit Soul-Suppressing Bell on her wrist back into her bosom: "Very well. However, if you dare to make any unusual moves, my Ma family's secret techniques also include a method to perish together with the enemy."

He Damin smiled slightly: "Miss Ma, you worry too much. Please follow me." With that, he slowly rose into the air, not using his terrifying teleportation, but flying deeper into the Yanshan Mountains at a speed that Ma Xiaoling could easily keep up with on her sword. Seeing this, Ma Xiaoling calmed herself down, recalled her Qingfeng sword (damaged and dimmed) which was stuck in a distant rock wall, and barely managed to fly up, following He Damin a few dozen feet behind. The two of them, one in front of the other, streaked across the sky, leaving the scorched earth ravaged by lightning far behind.

After flying for about half an hour, deep into the heart of the Yanshan Mountains, a place rarely visited by humans, He Damin descended from the clouds and landed on a seemingly ordinary mountain ridge covered by dense forest. He walked to a sheer cliff covered with vines and moss, and gently tapped several seemingly natural rock protrusions in a specific order. "Click... rumble..." A slight mechanical sound rang out, and from beneath the vines, a narrow crevice, barely wide enough for one person to pass through, silently slid open, revealing dark, man-made stone steps that sloping downwards, their destination unknown. A fresh scent of earth, vegetation, and a faint sulfurous aroma wafted out from the cave.

A look of surprise flashed across Ma Xiaoling's eyes again. The mechanism was set up so cleverly and naturally that she would hardly have noticed it even if she had walked up to it, had He Damin not activated it.

"Please." He Damin gestured to the side. Ma Xiaoling tightened her grip on her sword, took a deep breath, and stepped into the crevice. He Damin followed, and the crevice quietly closed behind him, the outer vines returning to their original state, seamless.

The stone steps descended about a hundred levels, and suddenly the view opened up before her. Even though Ma Xiaoling came from a reclusive family and was well-traveled, she was still slightly shocked by the sight before her. This was a valley surrounded by sheer cliffs hundreds of feet high on all sides, a world unto itself. The valley was warm as spring, and in the center, a hot spring about half an acre in size gurgled with steam. The water was clear and surprisingly paved with rare blue bricks, neat and elegant. Beside the hot spring, several ancient trees stood tall and gnarled, and on the largest hollow tree, a simple and sturdy treehouse was built, blending seamlessly with the tree. Below the treehouse, a patch of black soil about two acres in size had been carefully cultivated into furrows, planted with various medicinal herbs that she could recognize at a glance, full of spiritual energy. Although most of them were still young, they were growing very well, arranged in an orderly manner. A clear stream meandered through, providing fresh water. The entire valley is tranquil and peaceful, full of life, a stark contrast to the desolate and rugged Yanshan Mountains outside, like a paradise on earth.

"What a blessed land!" Ma Xiaoling couldn't help but exclaim. Although the spiritual energy here was still thin, its ingenious seclusion, complete self-sufficiency facilities, and tranquil and peaceful atmosphere made it a rare treasure for cultivation. She noticed that there were almost no traces of wild animals in the valley, and a very faint fishy smell of powerful creatures remained in the air, as if it had been cleaned up.

"This humble abode is rather plain; I hope you will forgive my rudeness, Miss Ma." He Damin led her to the hot spring pool next to the treehouse, where there were several large, flat rocks, warmed by the steam from the hot spring, which served as seats. "Please sit down, Miss Ma. This place is absolutely safe. The array and mechanisms isolate the inside from the outside, and even a Nascent Soul cultivator searching with their divine sense would find it difficult to detect."

The two sat down facing each other on the warm boulder. The rising steam from the hot spring carried a faint smell of sulfur, soothing their tense nerves.

He Damin spoke first, getting straight to the point: "Miss Ma, you previously said that I had a ghostly aura about me, and that I might have been possessed. To be honest, I had some fortuitous encounters in my early years and obtained an ancient treasure called the 'Soul Refining Banner,' which is specifically for absorbing, refining, and controlling the power of souls. By chance, I also managed to construct a rudimentary 'Reincarnation Space.' I need to nurture and refine it regularly, so my body is inevitably tainted with the aura of pure soul power. To those who specialize in this art, it might appear similar to a ghost."

He spoke frankly, and at the same time, with a slight thought, he released a trace of the Soul Refining Banner's aura. Instantly, a profound, distant, and ancient soul power fluctuation, imbued with the meaning of reincarnation, spread out. Although not strong, it caused the dormant Soul Suppressing Bell on Ma Xiaoling's wrist to resonate faintly and... tremble? That was the instinctive reaction of a low-level magic weapon facing a higher-level power of the same origin.

As Ma Xiaoling sensed this aura, all her doubts vanished. This was by no means the filthy feeling of evil cultivators creating fierce and malevolent spirits, but rather a dignified and upright soul power closer to the origin of laws, only its attribute leaned towards the yin and yang. No wonder she had mistaken him! Her face flushed slightly, somewhat embarrassed: "So that's how it is... It was my lack of skill and shallow knowledge that led me to misunderstand Senior He. Please forgive me, Senior." At this moment, she automatically addressed him as "Senior."

"It's alright." He Damin waved his hand. "Miss Ma is righteous and hates evil, and I admire her. However, there is one thing that has been on my mind, and I would like to ask Miss Ma about it."

"Please speak, senior." He Damin's expression turned slightly solemn. "Back then, when the Japanese invaded China, our land was shattered. Many patriotic cultivators of China descended the mountains to fight the Japanese, sacrificing their lives. However, as far as I know, it seems that only the various sects of Taoism descended the mountains at that time; no one from Buddhism participated. Yet, many long-established, reclusive families or sects, such as the Ma family of Northeast China, the corpse-driving sect of Western Hunan, and the witchcraft sect of Southern Xinjiang, rarely participated on a large scale in the main battlefield. At that time, the nation was in peril. With your abilities, if you had all gone to great lengths, you could have saved more lives and reduced countless losses. I wonder... is there another hidden reason behind this? Or do you all bear other, more important missions?"

This question had been buried in his heart for a long time. The information from his past life was complex and varied. In this life, he had personally experienced the flames of war, witnessed Taoist priests descending the mountain, and seen monks facing their deaths, yet he also vaguely sensed that there seemed to be a more hidden force fighting against the enemy on another level.

Upon hearing this, Ma Xiaoling remained silent for a moment, a hint of heaviness and reminiscence in her eyes. She gently stroked the Soul-Suppressing Bell on her wrist and slowly spoke, "Senior He's observation is correct. During the War of Resistance against Japan, the entire cultivation world of China did not devote all its strength to the frontal battles. There were many complex reasons for this."

"Firstly, each school and family has its own lineage and areas of expertise. Taoist talisman formations, flying swords, and thunder magic are more suitable for direct attacks and battlefield support. My Ma family, on the other hand, is skilled in summoning gods, exorcising evil spirits, suppressing souls, and some specific tracking techniques. However, these techniques are relatively limited in their effectiveness on large-scale battlefields, and the art of summoning gods is extremely energy-consuming and cannot be sustained."

"Secondly," her voice lowered, tinged with a cold hatred, "the Japanese also have their own 'supernatural beings,' or perhaps 'Onmyoji' or 'Shinto warriors' would be more appropriate. On the surface, they cooperate with the army, but secretly, they are carrying out an extremely malicious plan—to destroy the dragon veins of our Chinese nation!"

"Dragon veins?" He Damin's eyes narrowed. "Yes, dragon veins." Ma Xiaoling nodded. "They are not mere myths. There are indeed many spiritual veins on the land of China that are related to the fate of the nation, and can be called 'dragon veins.' Dragon veins gather the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, nourishing the land and water, and are also subtly related to the rise and fall of the nation. Those Japanese devils, with their wolfish ambitions, not only want to destroy our country, but also want to sever the roots of our civilization! They have dispatched Yin-Yang Masters skilled in Feng Shui and evil arts, carrying unorthodox magical artifacts, to infiltrate various parts of our land, searching for key dragon vein nodes, attempting to corrupt, sever, or even completely destroy them with evil magic!"

Her eyes flashed with a cold light: "This is one of the most important tasks for those supernatural beings during the war! And our five great hidden families of China—the Ma family of the Northeast, the Yan family of Western Hunan (corpse driving), the Lan family of Southern Xinjiang (witchcraft), the Tang family of Western Sichuan (mechanical weapons), and the descendants of the Xuanyuan clan who have guarded Kunlun Ruins for generations—our primary mission is to protect the core of the dragon veins of our respective five hidden lands for generations! At the same time, we must also snipe and eliminate those Japanese supernatural beings who infiltrate and sabotage us!"

"So, we weren't avoiding war back then!" Ma Xiaoling's voice became excited. "We were fighting all along! Deep in the Changbai Mountains, in the dense forests of western Hunan, in the rainforests of southern Xinjiang, on the cliffs of western Sichuan, at the snow line of the Kunlun Mountains... we fought countless unknown life-or-death battles against those Japanese devils who were skilled in evil arts and had treacherous methods! The ferocity of the battles and the magnitude of the sacrifices were no less than those on the main battlefields! My great-uncle, ten years ago, perished together with the enemy when he assassinated a leader of the Yin-Yang Masters in the Changbai Mountains..."

Her voice choked with emotion. She took a deep breath to calm herself: "Most of these battles took place in remote and dangerous places, and involved extraordinary powers, so they were unknown to the world. But it was because we held them back in the shadows and eliminated most of the enemies who were trying to destroy the dragon vein that we were able to prevent the spiritual core of our Chinese land from being fundamentally damaged, and also bought precious time for the soldiers on the front line and... a bit of luck from the unseen world."

He Damin listened quietly, his heart churning with emotion. So that's how it is! No wonder the power of the cultivation world didn't seem to be fully unleashed back then; there was a larger, more hidden battlefield! Destroying the dragon vein, severing the roots of civilization… the Japanese devils' actions were truly vicious beyond measure! And the five hidden families actually shouldered such a heavy protective mission!

"Five reclusive families... guarding the five dragon veins..." He Damin murmured repeatedly, then suddenly remembered something, "Miss Ma, you just mentioned 'the descendants of the Xuanyuan clan in Kunlun Ruins' and '1949'? Could it be...?"

Ma Xiaoling glanced at him, a strange light flashing in her eyes, and nodded: "It seems that you also sensed something, senior. That's right, on the day the new China was founded in 1949, two major events happened in the world, or rather, two sides of the same event."

She looked up at the narrow patch of sky carved out by the cliffs above the valley, as if recalling that soul-stirring scene: "On that day, the Purple Star Emperor was brighter than ever before, its light even briefly surpassing the sun; at the same time, an indescribable, vast, majestic aura of 'Imperial Way,' seemingly carrying the beliefs of billions of humans, rose from the east, reflecting the brilliance of the Purple Star Emperor and permeating the heavens and earth." "Then, a grand, ancient, and unquestionable 'voice,' or rather, 'will,' resounded deep within the hearts of all cultivators and other beings who had reached a certain level. It was not language, but a direct declaration of origin—it was the resonance of the wills of the 'Purple Star Emperor' and the newly born 'Human Emperor,' jointly establishing a 'Hundred-Year Covenant'!"

"What are the contents of the contract?" He Damin asked, holding his breath. Ma Xiaoling said solemnly, word by word, "Firstly, from the date the contract is established, for a hundred years, the activity of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth will be greatly restricted, entering the 'End of Dharma and Silent Period,' where the rate of spiritual energy generation and recovery will drop to an extremely low level, and it will become increasingly difficult to be activated and absorbed. This is because the 'Emperor Star' and the 'Human Emperor' have used their supreme power to temporarily 'lock' the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, both to prevent the remaining hostile supernatural forces from causing trouble and to buy time for the newly established human dynasty to develop stably without interference from supernatural forces."

"Secondly, within a hundred years, all supernatural beings, such as immortals, demons, monsters, and spirits, which are ancient beings or come from other worlds, are strictly prohibited from descending to the mortal realm in their true form or with powerful avatars to directly interfere in mortal affairs. Those who violate this rule will suffer the backlash of the fortunes of the 'Emperor Star' and the 'Human Emperor,' and may even be directly annihilated by the power of the contract! This rule is mainly to isolate those ancient beings or enemies from beyond the realm that may be detrimental to the newly established nation."

"This covenant, based on the destiny of the Chinese nation, fueled by the beliefs of hundreds of millions of people, and guided by the will of the Emperor of the Star, is established for one hundred years. Within this century, worldly affairs will remain worldly, and cultivation will remain cultivation. Human matters shall be decided by human beings, with the power of humankind!"

He Damin listened, speechless for a long time. His heart was filled with unparalleled shock! Restricting spiritual energy! Isolating high-level supernatural beings from interference! For a period of one hundred years! This explained why, upon his return, he felt the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was so thin and still! This explained why those legendary immortals, gods, demons, and monsters had vanished without a trace! This was actually a grand pact jointly established by the "Purple Star Emperor" and the newly born "Human Emperor," protecting China for a hundred years!

Based on the nation's destiny and fueled by unwavering faith! What a spirit! What a masterpiece!

No wonder... no wonder the Japanese devils tried so hard to destroy the dragon vein back then; it was a prelude to shaking the very foundation of the nation's destiny! No wonder those reclusive families guarded the dragon vein to the death!

"The century-long pact..." He Damin sighed, realizing the truth in his heart, "So that's how it is. This pact certainly restricted cultivation, but it also protected this land for a century, isolating it from the supernatural forces outside. The gains and losses are too numerous to describe."

Ma Xiaoling sighed, "Yes. For us cultivators, a century of silence has been a difficult journey. But for this newly born nation, for hundreds of millions of ordinary people, this century may be the crucial century to break free from the arbitrary manipulation of fate by supernatural forces and truly stand up on our own. Our elders have said that this is both a great sacrifice and a great merit. We cultivators, born and raised here, should naturally follow the will of Heaven and uphold this covenant."

The valley fell silent, save for the gurgling of the hot spring. The last rays of the setting sun finally pierced the western cliffs, casting a golden-red glow that shimmered the hot spring water and illuminated the two men's contemplative faces.

Gazing at the peaceful haven he had personally created, and thinking of the rapidly developing new nation outside, and the invisible pact that had shrouded the land for a century, He Damin was filled with countless thoughts. The path of cultivation, family, nation, and the world—they were all inextricably linked. And what did his return, his breakthrough, mean against the backdrop of this "century-long pact"?

"Thank you so much, Miss Ma, for clearing up my doubts," He Damin said sincerely. "Today's conversation has resolved a question that has troubled me for many years."

Ma Xiaoling shook her head: "Senior, you are too kind. It is I who have witnessed your extraordinary abilities today, and have heard that you are not of the evil path. I am filled with admiration. May I ask what your plans are next?"

He Damin looked at the treehouse, then at the sky: "Let's stay here for now to consolidate our cultivation and handle some worldly affairs. If Miss Ma has nothing urgent, she might as well rest here for the night. Although the valley is simple, it can still accommodate us. We can make further plans tomorrow."

Ma Xiaoling hesitated for a moment, looking into He Damin's sincere gaze, considering his strength and demeanor, and their conversation that had touched upon the core secrets of the cultivation world. Finally, she nodded: "Then... I'll trouble you for the night, Senior." The setting sun completely sank behind the mountain ridge, and warm light shone from the window of the treehouse in the valley. This night deep in the Yanshan Mountains was destined to flow slowly amidst contemplation of dragon veins, contracts, and the path to the future.