“He is,” I replied.

Jinjing was silent for a moment as she digested the information she had heard. “How about the gods? What level are they?”

“For light core cultivators, there is what they call as Ascension, where an immortal ascends to the heavens and becomes one of the gods. That’s what they refer to as the tenth level.”

“What about the dark core cultivators?”

“They have an equivalent for it, and they call it Descension.”

“Descension? You mean… they’ll go down instead of up?”

“That’s correct.”

“And where does down lead to?”

“To the underworld.”

“And they become real devils?”

“That’s what they say, but so far, there’s been only one recorded to have made it that far and was not seen again, so no one can tell what happens to them after Descension.”

“But since he is immortal, he should still be alive, right?”

“No one knows. Five hundred years ago, he disappeared.”

“Has there been a record of anyone ascending recently?”

“Unfortunately, there has not been for a long time. The most recent was Liang Hu. He was also a priest and is recognized by all light cultivator sects as a god.”

“Does he still exist?”

I shook my head. “Five hundred years ago, he fought with a demon. One book I read says he had sacrificed himself to hold the demon down so the heroes can seal the demon’s core.”

“Heroes?”

“They’re a group of seven people who had trained for years to master the art of sealing a core. They were made for one purpose only, to put an end to the demon who’d been reigning havoc all over the continent.”

“And what happened to Liang Hu?”

“He died and ascended to the heavens.”

She gasped in amazement. “That’s some kind of story. Was it real?”

“It’s been five hundred years. No one can attest to its truthfulness. The book I read was written just a century ago, so its accuracy is in question. That’s why people consider it a legend. But the person of Immortal Liang Hu is real. There are many ancient books detailing his existence. The demon is also real, but nothing much was written about him. No one even knows his name. I’m not sure why. I suspect that it’s a matter of prejudice. Most writers of history belong to light sects. They probably did not want to waste their effort talking about a dark-sect cultivator.”

“I can understand that. But what a shame. It would have made an interesting story.”

“The same thing is happening now. Those who make the rankings of the top ten cultivators usually lean towards the light sects. They don’t mention anything about Ruan Yanjun. They ignore him as if his existence and his immortality is only a tale.”

“They pretend he does not exist?”

I nodded. “Exactly.”

“You come from a light sect. Why do you speak like Ruan Yanjun is real then?”

“I don’t like to be blind from the truth just to feed my ego. If it’s real that Ruan Yanjun has actually achieved the ninth level, then we should take that as a fact and not pretend that it’s just a tale.”

“You should write a book about it. Become an example of an unbiased light sect disciple.”

I shook my head. “I don’t have that credibility anymore. Who will believe the words of a level zero?”

She sighed and did not speak about the matter anymore. “Do you think… Ruan Yanjun will someday attain that final level that you were talking about?” she asked instead.

“It’s highly possible. In fact, based on what I have heard about him, I don’t even doubt it.”

“Is he really that good?”

“The fact that he has made it to level nine means he’s that great. Just the mention of his name is enough to make people tremble, cultivators or not.”

“Is he that scary?”

“He’s a devil, notorious and ruthless. It’s best to stay away from him. There’s a reason why even Emperor An of Wun and Emperor Yin of Xianru fear him.”

She took a deep breath. “Then we’re lucky to have made it out of that restaurant before we got caught in all that chaos.”

“But I am still in doubt if Lord Lan is indeed Ruan Yanjun.”

“Why?”

“When we were talking earlier, Lord Lan mentioned a certain man who is dying of an unknown illness, and he believes he was poisoned. He said we show the same symptoms, and he believes that whatever afflicted that man has also afflicted me. So he wants me to go see the man myself. If he were Ruan Yanjun, he would not have been that concerned about anyone else. He is known for his extreme self-centeredness. It’s not his trait to concern himself about anyone else’s life.”

“Even if it were true, what can you do about that man? You can’t even heal yourself.”

“I think the man is rich and is willing to provide everything that I might need to find out more about the illness. We don’t have the resources and that is why I cannot find out what is ailing me. But if they will provide the necessary resources, then there’s a chance that I might find a cure.”

“You’re right… Did you agree?”

“I was about to, but then that man barged in. And when he referred to Lord Lan as Ruan Yanjun, I was no longer sure.”

She did not speak for a long moment. “This is quite a dilemma you are into. I can’t seem to decide either, but then… looking at you, your condition is indeed not getting any better. Rather than just waiting for your condition to worsen, maybe it’s better if you take the chance.”

I sighed. “That’s what I’m thinking too.”

She tapped my hand. “Lord Lan may look intimidating, but I don’t think he is a devil. If he wanted to harm you, he would have done so already. That grandmaster had probably just mistaken him for Ruan Yanjun.”

It was unlikely. Wang Bei was a grandmaster. A grandmaster could not possibly be mistaken. “If I had not lost my cultivation, I probably could tell. Right now, my senses can no longer recognize and comprehend the aura of a high level.”

“So what is your decision?”

I looked at her. Even if I could not clearly see her face, looking at her profile was enough. “If you think I should give it a try, then perhaps I should.”

“Are you sure? It’s not that I’m forcing you.”

I took a deep breath. “I think you’re right. I should take the chance.”