Two Thousand Years

It was no wonder that Xu Yi was so shocked, as the furnishings in this room were vastly different from what she had experienced before.

Floating in the center of the ceiling was a luminous sphere, and to her right was a dressing mirror that reflected one’s image with such clarity, as if it were made of glass but even more transparent.

In front of the mirror were various small and large translucent jars, emitting a dazzling array of colors under the radiance of the overhead sphere.

These novel objects inevitably sparked Xu Yi’s speculation.

Had the Nine Provinces undergone such tremendous changes in the span of two hundred years?

No wonder people often said that the world is ever-changing, like the shifting tides of the sea.

Xu Yi pondered these thoughts when a young girl dressed in black and white robes entered the room.

The girl had delicate eyebrows and clear eyes, and a faint medicinal fragrance lingered around her.

Seeing Xu Yi opening her eyes, the girl smiled and said, “You have finally awakened. Do you know that you have been asleep for half a month?”

Xu Yi quickly sat up and expressed her gratitude, saying, “Did you save me? Thank you so much.”

The girl hurriedly approached and supported Xu Yi, placing a pillow behind her back. She then chuckled and replied, “It wasn’t me, it was Elder Qingfeng who brought you back. How could you be so daring as to venture outside the mountain gate to undergo tribulation? Luckily, nothing happened to you.”

“So it was Elder Qingfeng. May I know where Elder Qingfeng is now? I must express my gratitude in person.”

Xu Yi uncovered the blanket on her body, intending to get out of bed, but the girl quickly stopped her.

“Don’t move, you have just awakened. Rest for a few more days. Besides, Elder Qingfeng is too busy to see you right now. He is currently overseeing the affairs of the sect.”

Upon hearing this, Xu Yi abandoned her immediate desire to thank her benefactor and said somewhat apologetically, “I was too hasty just now and didn’t have the chance to ask for your name. I am Xu Yi, a disciple of the Xuanji Sect.”

The girl gave Xu Yi a strange look, chuckled, and mimicked her earlier introduction, saying, “I am Putao, also a disciple of the Xuanji Sect.”

After speaking, she found it amusing and burst into a laughter that sounded like tinkling silver bells. Meanwhile, Xu Yi was dumbfounded.

This fellow cultivator claimed to be a disciple of the Xuanji Sect as well?

However, her attire clearly did not resemble the robes of the Xuanji Sect.

Could it be that the style of the Xuanji Sect’s robes had changed over the past two hundred years?

But that was impossible. Xu Yi remembered that even until her death in the dream, the style of the robes had never been changed.

Yet, seeing Putao’s serious expression and recalling the unfamiliar Elder Qingfeng who was mentioned before, Xu Yi fell into silence for a while before cautiously asking, “May I know the current sect master’s Daoist name?”

Putao’s smile faded, and she looked at Xu Yi with a hint of concern, murmuring, “Oh no, could you have been struck dumb by the Heavenly Tribulation?”

Xu Yi stared intently at Putao, her expression grave, and her palms unconsciously clenched.

After regaining her composure, Putao earnestly replied, “The current sect master’s Daoist name is Buwang.”

“Buwang? Buwang! Ji Buwang!”

Xu Yi nearly jumped off the bed.

She tightly grasped Putao’s hand and confirmed repeatedly, “Is it that Ji Buwang?”

Putao nodded solemnly.

Xu Yi let out a mournful cry and closed her eyes in anguish.

The Elder Qingfeng she didn’t recognize, but Ji Buwang was someone she knew.

Speaking of him inevitably brought up the prophetic dream she had.

The reason she was convinced that everything she saw was a dream and not something that had already happened was because her perspective followed her junior sister, witnessing her growth firsthand.

Xu Yi was merely an insignificant stepping stone on her junior sister’s path to maturity.

Besides her astonishing talent, her junior sister had an extraordinary amount of pursuers.

Every young talent in the Nine Provinces couldn’t help but develop feelings for her, but one person left the deepest impression on Xu Yi.

In her dream, she was that person’s admirer.

And the ultimate culprit who drove her to kill her junior sister was that very person.

Ji Xiu, the genius sword cultivator of Xuanqing Sect, wields the formidable Lingtian Sword Technique, sweeping through fellow cultivators of the same generation.

Ji Buwang, Ji Xiu.

The connection between them was evident from their names.

Indeed, if no unforeseen circumstances had occurred, Ji Buwang should be the child of Ji Xiu and the junior sister.

She had once heard Ji Xiu personally expressed his intention to name their future child Ji Buwang, a name that not only encourages self-reflection but also subtly conveys his affection for the junior sister.

Upon hearing these words filled with deep emotions in her dream, she clenched her silver teeth and ultimately embarked on an irreversible path.

Even if Xu Yi were to turn to ashes, she would never forget this uniquely meaningful name.

So, she was now in the hands of the descendants of the junior sister?

Xu Yi regretted to the point of wanting to smash into a wall.

How was it that she cannot escape the grasp of the junior sister even after emerging from the secret realm?

Xu Yi was currently in a state of utter despair when suddenly her thoughts shifted, and she noticed something unusual.

She had only been trapped in the secret realm for two hundred years, and considering the progression of the dream, she should not have died yet, nor should the junior sister have been together with Ji Xiu, let alone the existence of Ji Buwang.

Xu Yi abruptly opened her eyes, staring intensely at the perplexed Putao, and asked, “How many years has it been since the establishment of Xuanji Sect?”

Putao was momentarily stunned before replying, “You have even forgotten this. It has been three thousand four hundred and seventy years.”

Three thousand four hundred and seventy years hit Xu Yi like a heavy hammer, making her dizzy.

The year she left Xuanji Sect was clearly one thousand four hundred and seventy years since its establishment.

In other words, the place she had appeared in now was Xuanji Sect two thousand years later.

“Haha… Hahaha…” Xu Yi cried and laughs, tears streaming down incessantly.

Two thousand years!

She had actually been two thousand years later!

Her master, the elders, and her fellow disciples were no longer here.

Thinking of the resentful and disappointed gaze her master had when she last left, Xu Yi feels even more heartbroken.

She buried herself in the blanket, wailing loudly.

Meanwhile, Putao was frightened by Xu Yi’s reaction.

After a while, she hurriedly runs outside.

Not long after, she returned with four or five senior cultivators following behind her.

When Xu Yi was pulled out from under the blanket, her face was marked with tear stains, her nose red.

She hadn’t recovered from her sorrowful emotions when she was surrounded by the four or five cultivators, their actions dispersing her melancholy.

“I-I’m fine, I really am.” Xu Yi tried to stop the hands of the people reaching towards her body while calling out in panic.

Seeing that her emotions were relatively stable, the cultivators retracted their hands, though their expressions remained serious.

“According to Putao, you had forgotten the Sect Master’s title and the establishment date of the sect. Do you remember anything else? Do you recall which elder you were apprenticed to?”

Xu Yi swallowed her saliva and nodded gently.

"Well, please go ahead," he prompted.

“I was apprenticed to Yuanming… the Sect Master.”

The cultivators exchanged glances, silently shaking their heads.

It seemed that the Heavenly Tribulation truly caused some issues.

Then, Xu Yi was forcefully suppressed by the group, thoroughly examined from head to toe.