Chapter Sixty-Three: The Bai Family’s Hidden Secrets

Years ago, a secret realm emerged within the borders of Wuzhou. Many sects and families dispatched their members to venture inside in search of treasures. Unlike the cautious probing of other forces, Bai Shuyue, the previous patriarch, decided to stake everything, sending more than half the clan’s experts into the realm, leaving only a few to guard their home.

Should their expedition succeed, the Bai family’s strength could soar, perhaps even making them the rulers of Wuzhou City. The decision was unquestioned, and all clan members supported it. Yet, the patriarch and elders underestimated the peril before them.

The Bai family mobilized numerous experts—most in the Golden Core and Fusion stages. Bai Muyun, as the clan’s foremost master, naturally accompanied the patriarch. Within the secret realm, the Bai family’s power eclipsed that of other factions.

But fate proved unpredictable. After half a month searching the realm, having gathered many precious materials, they reached its depths and discovered something chilling: there were demons hidden within. All parties who entered were shocked, for the demon race had only appeared a thousand years ago. They plunged the world into chaos and decimated the cultivation world, until all human cultivators united to annihilate them.

Who could have imagined that such a small secret realm would harbor demons? Their fearsome reputation echoed throughout the Cloud Nation, and those who entered felt their hearts tremble. The demons were fearless, ferocious, and powerful. All sects and families who entered perished in a great battle within the secret realm.

The Bai patriarch, elders, and Bai Muyun’s parents and elder brother were slain before his eyes. The carnage is something Bai Muyun still cannot bear to face. In the end, only he fought his way out, wielding the Azure Profound Jade Sword.

Inside, he battled a demon leader for hundreds of rounds, and was struck by a palm blow. The demon’s strange technique caused no physical harm, but slowly drained away his cultivation. Such a method was unheard of, yet it was Bai Muyun’s fate to endure it.

For a martial cultivator, this was worse than death. For a peerless talent, to lose his cultivation and become a weakling, a mere ant, was a torment beyond words.

When the secret realm closed, he realized he had lost all his closest kin, and would soon fall from the peak to ordinary status. His heart was filled with despair, anger and hatred giving way to hopelessness, and he nearly took his own life.

At that moment, he matured greatly, losing his former arrogance. He pondered many things: the clan’s elite were decimated, only seven or eight Golden Core experts remained. Their power greatly diminished, they would surely be devoured by other families. Only he could turn the tide and awe the rivals. Moreover, his elder brother’s five-year-old daughter still needed to be raised.

Therefore, he had to hurry back and make preparations before his cultivation faded completely.

That night, he returned alone to Wuzhou City. Without even changing his blood-stained clothes at home, he went straight to the residences of various families. Thus, the legend known to all in Wuzhou began: Bai Muyun, in a single night, challenged the top experts of all first-class families, visiting each renowned master and defeating them in a few moves before departing.

All thirty-one of Wuzhou’s top experts were vanquished in a single night by the Silver Thread Jade Sword.

The families speculated: Bai Muyun must have received a secret inheritance from the realm, and returned eager to test his sword.

His actions intimidated the families, who dared not covet the Bai clan. Bai Muyun became the clan patriarch, leading a reclusive life, and publicly declared he would never unsheathe his sword again.

He silently bore the burden of the clan’s survival, a decade passing in the blink of an eye.

Now, even the Azure Profound Jade Sword, his famed weapon and one of Wuzhou’s Eight Divine Artifacts, was beyond his grasp, as he had lost all spiritual energy. For a swordsman, this was a tragic fate.

Thus, the genius faded into obscurity.

For ten years, he instructed the clan to act modestly. He kept the secret to himself, seeking solace in music and jade, and raised his elder brother’s orphaned daughter, Bai Zhuluo, alone.

“Patriarch, we’ve arrived,” a guard interrupted Bai Muyun’s thoughts.

Someone stepped forward to help him out of the carriage.

Surrounded by attendants, he walked toward the patriarch’s residence. The surroundings were silent and dark, giving an unsettling sensation.

Months ago, changes began to quietly unfold within the Bai family...

For a decade, Bai Muyun kept to himself, guarding the secret of his lost cultivation. He relied on the lingering prestige from that night of challenges to stabilize the clan and deter outsiders. The plan was sound: with a few more decades of quiet conduct, the Bai family, buoyed by their rich resources and foundation, could nurture new talents and overcome the loss. By then, his role would no longer be crucial, and the Bai clan would endure.

He also knew that before this, if his secret were discovered, some clan members would surely seize the chance to challenge for the patriarch’s position. The patriarchal role was a heavy burden; he never wished to cling to it. But if outsiders learned the truth, they would exploit the clan’s weakened state, devouring its resources to strengthen themselves.

But fate intervened. Months ago, word came that Liu Changqing would challenge Bai Muyun. At that moment, he knew all was lost.

Avoiding the fight or losing it would be fatal for the Bai family. It was better to set everything in order, so that being slain by Liu Changqing would at least preserve his dignity as a cultivator.

He gathered the clan’s top members and revealed his secret. Silence fell, a mood of depression and despair permeating the council hall.

Bai Muyun had prepared for this day. Years earlier, he sent someone to secretly search for a small village. If the clan relocated there, their bloodline could be preserved and, perhaps, revived in the future.

As patriarch, he knew how rival families would strike. Since everyone lived within the city and under official jurisdiction, they wouldn’t be killed outright or enslaved. But their businesses would be seized first, forcing the Bai family to dismiss many members and weaken their power. Then, all resources would be cut off, making it impossible to produce martial cultivators again. In a hundred years, the Bai family would fade into obscurity.

Some descendants might even choose to become servants to survive.

He explained the situation, letting them decide for themselves. But these scions of great families, accustomed to privilege, were unwilling to leave for a remote village, facing a life of rustic hardship and dangers along the way.

In the end, only Bai Muyun’s direct branch, his uncle and kin, agreed to depart. To cover their tracks, a pretext was devised. Thus, the story spread that a hundred members of the Bai clan had committed offenses and were banished by him.

He hoped that branch might survive. Bai Muyun sighed, feeling guilt toward them. As patriarch, he had no selfish motives. He once believed his branch would benefit from his rise, but they received nothing. Now, those still supporting him are his own blood.

May they endure and thrive.