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Prologue: The Black Book
"Haa, this is good," the Hidden Gem Feng Xi found in the spectacular novel titled "The Black Book." Feng Xi grinned while he continued reading the letters on the book pages.
Despite its title, "The Black Book," one might wonder if it's a tale of horror, a thriller, or perhaps something akin to the anime Death Note.
However, upon delving into its pages, one is met with exquisite prose that dances through the imagination—perfection in written form! It serves as a poignant reminder not to judge a book by its title.
The narrative unfolds within a realm of cultivation—a universe where martial artists, both noble and nefarious, pursue the elusive goal of immortality.
At the heart of this tale is Wu Qingge, an outer disciple of Mount Hua Peak's Master Mo Xian. Despite his status and frail meridians, Wu Qingge remains steadfast in his solitary training endeavors, while his peers—the inner disciples—enjoy the privilege of training halls. In contrast, outer disciples like him are relegated to menial tasks on Mount Hua Peak.
The cultivation practices bear the names of flowers—a lotus, peony, plum blossom; it matters not. If it's a floral cultivation technique, its origins trace back to Mount Hua Peak.
Mount Hua Peak was resplendent, adorned with an abundance of flowers. These were not mere decorations; the flowers possessed spiritual qi or inner energy. Outer disciples had the duty of watering them with Shen Shui, the divine water from the river at Mount Hua Peak. This river, brimming with purified spiritual qi, earned its divine moniker for this reason. When Shen Shui is applied to the soil containing flower seeds, it gradually purifies the soil and imbues the seeds with spiritual qi, allowing them to blossom into exquisite divine flowers.
Wu Qingge held the humble position of sweeper at Mount Hua Peak's entrance. As an outer disciple, his place was quite literally outside the peak—a commonality he shared with his fellow outer disciples. This was due to Master Mo Xian of Mount Hua Peak being a compassionate individual who believed in treating all disciples equally.
However, Liu Xiao, the foremost disciple of Master Mo Xian and known as "The Rising Star Meihua" in the cultivation world, disagreed with this egalitarian approach. He believed that inner disciples, being more competent, should not be seen as equals to their outer counterparts. In his view, Master Mo Xian's kindness was misguided. Although Liu Xiao wished to express his concerns to his master, he feared causing him distress.
Consequently, Liu Xiao directed his frustration towards the outer disciples in secret. Unable to tolerate their equal standing, and resentful that they did not show him the same respect as they did his master—due to their perceived equality—he resorted to bullying them. What a shallow person! If you want to be respected just because you're stronger, then you should've joined the Demon Cult!
Well, he seemed a bit reasonable because it's like when you were assigned to a group and were tasked with doing something. Then you were the only one who contributed, but the names of your members were written in the "List of those who contributed" paper. It just felt unfair, right? Yes.....
╮(╯▽╰)╭ Well, moving on to the story... Wu Qingge was a very hard-working disciple. Chen Yi, Mount Hua Peak Master Mo Xian's second disciple, and the so-called "Autumn Fairy Juhua," Since Juhua symbolizes autumn, Chen Yi always looked sad but, at the same time, strong. She fell in love with the hardworking main protagonist, Wu Qingge.
(Juhua means Chrysanthemum in Chinese.)
Tragically, Liu Xiao was deeply infatuated with Chen Yi, bordering on obsession. He envied Wu Qingge after witnessing Chen Yi steal glances at him during his solitary training sessions. This envy drove Liu Xiao to torment Wu Qingge.
Liu Xiao's attention towards Wu Qingge led to him being bullied by both the inner and outer disciples. Such shameless and childish behavior from Liu Xiao! It's heartbreaking to see Wu Qingge suffer like this.
Enduring all the mistreatment and being disheartened by his plight, Wu Qingge reached his breaking point. On one occasion, a senior disciple threatened to withhold his meals unless he slept in the garbage dump. It was there that he stumbled upon a peculiar black book filled with blank pages.
Covered in wounds and cuts from the relentless bullying, Wu Qingge's blood inadvertently came into contact with the book. This triggered the appearance of an elder with a red mark on his forehead, garbed in blood-red attire.
The elder, emerging from the book, offered Wu Qingge a binding contract. In return for his allegiance, the elder promised to impart all of his demonic martial arts knowledge and the secrets of his Black Lotus cultivation technique. Originally known as Divine Lotus Cultivation, it had grown more potent after being infused with demonic qi, leading the elder to rename it Black Lotus Cultivation.
Indeed, the elder was the previous Peak Master of Mount Hua centuries ago. He was a legendary genius, revered as the master of the century. It was he who developed the floral-type cultivation techniques currently utilized by Wu Qingge's fellow disciples. When confronted with his limitations, he could not come to terms with them and succumbed to the temptation of demonic cultivation. As a result, his qi became boundless, as expansive as the heavens, and as infinite as the ocean. He felt an overwhelming sense of power, yet it came at the cost of countless lives.
The black lotus cultivation technique allows one to extract the spiritual qi from others, using it to heal or regenerate any part of a living being's organs or body, whether physical or mental. However, this technique requires one to continually replenish their spiritual qi by siphoning it from others, as black lotus cultivation does not generate or expand a cultivator's spiritual qi; theft of others' spiritual qi is the only means to sustain it. This was the dire price of harnessing demonic qi.
The Elder turned into an adversary for all Peak Master cultivators. At the brink of his demise, he encapsulated all his knowledge of demonic martial arts and cultivation into a random tome within Mount Hua Peak's martial arts library.
An inner disciple must've thrown it away, seeing that it's useless just because it's blank. *sigh* Dude.... It looks suspicious; shouldn't you have reported it to your master first? How stupid!
Wu Qingge grew in power, with the demonic red mark on his forehead becoming increasingly prominent as he advanced in his cultivation and martial arts. His renown spread throughout the cultivation world following his victory over Liu Xiao in the Rising Star Cultivation Battle. Unable to bear the disgrace, Liu Xiao attempted to poison him, aiming to shatter his meridians. However, the attempt failed due to Wu Qingge's black lotus cultivation technique.
Fed up with Liu Xiao's lack of honor, Wu Qingge decided it was time for retribution. He turned Liu Xiao into a guinea pig, draining all of his spiritual qi. For a cultivator, their spiritual qi is their life. Wait, more like a soul? Err...
So yeah, that's that. If you're out of qi, bye-bye to the world.
Wu Qingge first tested his demonic qi on Liu Xiao. The power made him feel invincible as if he could conquer the world. His mind swirled with malevolent thoughts, seeking vengeance against his tormentors, yet he spared the innocent, retaining a vestige of his humanity.
Witnessing Wu Qingge's newfound might, Chen Yi declared her love for him. Together, they departed from Mount Hua Peak to explore the world.
The Peak Master of Mount Hua, Mo Xian, was devastated by the fate of his disciples. Overcome with despair, he ended his life by detonating his spiritual qi. With one disciple gone and the other forsaking him for love, he saw no purpose in living; they were like children to him.
As Mount Hua Peak vanished, the cultivation world reeled in shock. They branded Wu Qingge as an adversary.
Together, Wu Qingge and Chen Yi vanquished their foes. On the cusp of seizing control of the demonic cult, Feng Xi realized dawn had broken.
Wait, what? I started reading this at 11 p.m. Don't tell me I stayed up all night until the last chapter of this novel. No way! Feng Xi stared a bit at the novel on his computer before turning it off and going to bed.
Maybe I'll read it tomorrow. Since it's only the last one, it's not a problem, right?
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