CH 70

In a moment, Xu Jingxian regretted her own actions.

But she had not given it much thought a moment ago.

After she pushed open the door effortlessly, she saw Yun Hai sitting on the floor and holding Changming in his hands. The latter was in a state of delirium, his long disheveled hair covering Yun Hai’s knees and a part of the floor. His face was pale, and blood was oozing from the corners of his mouth, dripping onto the floor and resounding in her ears.

No matter how one looked at this, it seemed like Yun Hai had just killed him and intended to get rid of the corpse in order to destroy all traces of his crime in one go.

It would have looked this way even more, had Yun Hai’s lips not been pressed against Changming’s

Xu Jingxian’s eyes met his, and she could not help but take a couple of steps back, her heart pounding.

The oppressive aura he had unleashed was truly overwhelming, and she could feel this incorporeal force strangling her.

Yun Hai’s pitch-black pupils were fixed on her, he said nothing, and he did not distance himself from Changming.

Should she pretend she saw nothing and walk away abruptly, or should she rush to the beauty’s rescue like a hero?

She was aware of the relationship they shared, knew they were half-enemies, half-friends, and not like a normal master and his disciple at all. Based on Yun Hai’s refusal to recognise him in the Nine Layers of the Abyss, if Xu Jingxian was told that he had suddenly gone mad and decided to kill Changming, she would not doubt it in the slightest.

With her current level of cultivation, she could hardly defeat Yun Hai; on the contrary, she could suffer a lot.

But she still wanted to hold onto Changming’s thighs.

Yun Hai was moody and difficult to please, just like her clan master—but her clan master was still a bit more sane.

Xu Jingxian struggled against her principles for a moment, and finally forced a smile.

“Shixiong Yun, what are you doing? Do you need help?”

“Get out.” Yun Hai only uttered two words, but this concise remark said it all.

“Shixiong Yun, don’t drive me away so fast! Is the senior wounded, can I help?” Xu Jingxian was doing things in the way a seductress from a Demonic sect would do on a daily basis, so her tone, even though she did not notice it herself, carried a demonic technique of temptation.

Yun Hai’s expression softened a lot indeed.

But, before Xu Jingxian could rejoice, a blast of sword qi flew over like an arrow, aimed right at her forehead. If she had not been quick enough, her forehead would have been bleeding right now.

“Shixiong Yun, why are you so fierce, startling this girl!”

“Get out, I’m helping him recover from his wounds,” Yun Hai’s expression changed into a dark and terrifying one.

Xu Jingxian lasted for a moment under this pressure, gritting her teeth. Her heart was filled with fear. Obviously, she had the cultivation of a master, but, unexpectedly, in front of Yun Hai, she could hardly breathe, as if buried under the weight of Mount Tai.

It was one of the non-physical types of intimidation. Upon meeting, both sides could approximately gauge the extent of each other’s powers. Of course, it might have been a bluff, but Xu Jingxian could not bet her life on this. She knew that Yun Hai could really kill her.

She said in her heart, Senior, I really can’t resist further! It’s not that I don’t want to rescue you, but the opponent is too scary. I did my best!

“Then, then I’ll help you by guarding outside, Shixiong Yun, call me if something happens!”

She sneaked away swiftly, without a trace.

The corners of Yun Hai’s mouth twitched.

“Did you see that? Is this your third disciple’s subordinate that you think so highly of?”

“Xu Jingxian has a satisfactory aptitude. Even though her cultivation is worse than you two, she still stands out from the crowd of shorties.”

Changming slowly opened his eyes, coughing.

“Also, I’ve kept her with me not because of Zhou Keyi, but because she’s more reliable than he is.”

The larger Jiang Li’s formation grew, and the more they fought against each other, many more events were being put into motion. No matter how strong Changming was, he could not do everything alone. For the same reason, Jiang Li had been sending his disciples on errands, allying with demons, and even creating his own incarnation. Not only was he trying to restrain Changming, he was also probing Changming’s bottom line.

Changming had not even been able to figure out Jiang Li’s current level of cultivation, while Changming’s abilities had been laid out clearly before Jiang Li. Changming’s enemy was in the dark, while he was in the light, his future uncertain.

Yun Hai seemed to have guessed his thoughts.

“People say that Jiang Li, the master of the Wanjian Immortal Clan, is now the strongest person in the world. But no one has seen him fight for the last decade, because no one is worthy of challenging him. No one knows how far he has progressed in his cultivation. The last time he fought happened during the Qianlin Assembly, where he confronted Fu Dongyuan, the master of the Celestial Abode Shenxiao.”

Changming slowly got up, putting his hand on the floor.

“How do you know this? Haven’t you been staying in the Nine Layers of the Abyss all that time?”

Yun Hai: “Xu Jingxian told me.”

Changming: “What was the outcome of this battle?”

Yun Hai: “A disastrous defeat.”

Changming coughed and looked at him.

Yun Hai: “Fu Dongyuan suffered a crushing defeat. From that time on, the influence of the Celestial Abode Shenxiao was slowly taken away by the Wanjian Immortal Clan, and not a single sect of this world tried to challenge their abilities and argue about seniority. During the last ten years, no one has witnessed Jiang Li in a battle, and no one knows which realm he has reached.”

Changming: “Have you fought against him?”

Yun Hai: “After you went to the Sacred Mountain Wan, he offered to exchange pointers with me once.”

Changming: “How was it?”

Yun Hai: “We fought twice. The first time, he was fighting vengefully, and was too impatient, so he lost, though it was a slight defeat. The second time, he was attacking steadily and surely, so we ended in a draw. But I felt like he wasn’t fighting at full capacity, and I didn’t figure out his limits.”

Changming pondered: “Now he can only be stronger.”

Yun Hai: “And you still gave all of Sifei’s spiritual powers to me, losing a chance to make a breakthrough.”

At first, Changming wanted to retrieve the Sifei Sword because he had infused it with energy for many years. Moreover, its spiritual power was extraordinary, so it could help him break through difficult barriers at important moments. But when his Zhiyu Nianyue technique had reached the eighth level and he could not break through, it so happened that Yun Hai had started getting possessed as well. At this crucial moment, Changming finally chose to transfer the spiritual power of the Sifei Sword to his opponent to help him suppress the demon.

The Sifei Sword’s spiritual powers were exhausted, and it turned into just a rare spiritual weapon. It definitely could still drive away demons, going through fire and water for Changming, but was limited by its owner’s powers, and could no longer assist him in crisis.

“You lost an excellent opportunity to return to the top, and no longer have the qualifications to fight against Jiang Li,” Yun Hai was looking at him, “Do you regret it, Shizun?”

“Look at your palm,” Changming did not reply to his question.

Yun Hai raised his hand and opened his palm.

The red line that had previously started intertwining on his palm was now almost transparent. It even retreated all the way back to his wrist, becoming very faint; it was obviously very different from its previous bright-colored self.

Although the demonic qi had not been driven away completely, Changming’s efforts were not wasted either. At least, he had managed to restrict it; it was as if he had driven it into a cage. For some time, it would not bother Yun Hai again.

“Your inner demon appeared because of me, so I should deal with it with my own hands,” Changming patted him on his shoulder, “Who told you to be my most troublesome first disciple, Yun Weisi.”

From that day on, there was no difference between Yun Weisi and Yun Hai, because he had settled matters with himself, and would not care what name Changming used to call him.

Changming did not regret it in the slightest. He never regretted anything he decided to do himself.

The Great Dao appears in thousands of ways in the world, and one day, he would return to the top with his own efforts.

“So, now I owe you, Shizun.”

Before Changming took away his hand, Yun Weisi grabbed it tightly.

The ties between them could not be broken like this.

“That year, before you entered the Sacred Mountain Wan, you were waiting for a long time. For whom?”

Changming narrowed his eyes: “Did you intrude into my sea of consciousness?”

Yun Weisi: “I did what I should have done to save you.”

Changming looked at him. Yun Weisi seemed innocent.

“Great, looks like you’ve already forsaken the Heartless Dao, and fused with Yun Hai.”

Yun Weisi said: “[Heartlessness results in warm-heartedness. The thing called the Great Heartless Dao of this world appeared because people have limited horizons. If they want, they follow it, and where water flows, a canal forms. It’s nothing but a way of cultivation.]”

Where water flows, a canal forms: when conditions are ripe, success is assured

Changming snorted: “My congratulations to Daozun Yun’s moment of enlightenment and advancing in cultivation.”

Yun Weisi: “I’m also very grateful for shizun’s help in understanding my heart.”

Changming: “Then can you let my hand go?”

…

Zhou Keyi had not died.

But he would have suffered less if he did.

The sky was gloomily dark. Since the moment he had entered this place, he had not seen a bright sky above his head.

What tortured him the most was not the eternal, black night.

But the lotuses that were everywhere under his feet.

These lotuses, seemingly carved in stone, were blooming in disorder. They seemed to be growing as far as the eye could see, so it looked like no one could escape them.

The lotus is a symbol of Buddhism, signifying purity and holiness. But these lotuses were not like this.

They looked like stone carvings, but in truth, there were countless human bones buried beneath them, while these stone lotuses themselves were vessels supporting the souls from these bodies.

While the person that had been selected was still alive, they were skinned and their bones were removed. On the chosen day, using a certain secret technique, this person would be shrunk to a size that was suitable for placing him into a lotus container with the help of a spiritual herb. The victim could only watch his own body merging with the vessel, and in the end die in agony. That was what a Flesh Lotus Vessel was.

The vessel became one with the person’s flesh, and their souls, full of remaining grievances, were trapped in it forever. It was precisely these types of vessels that surrounded Zhou Keyi everywhere, keeping him confined there. A barrier built by these fierce and aggrieved spirits probably could not kill a person, but could trap them within it.

With nets above and snares below, he had no place to escape to.

Nets above and snares below: encirclement

Zhou Keyi’s spiritual powers and mind were eroded away day after day, and his temper became even more irritable, getting close to a breakdown.

Blood. It was swiftly flowing from his opened wounds, wetting the stone lotuses; their petals unfolded slowly, beautiful yet ominous.

Zhou Keyi wanted to open his eyes, but he did not manage to. He could not even move a single finger.

He had been covered with cuts and bruises all over since a while ago, but could not even die.

His wounds were healing and opening again in an endless circle. Stone lotuses of different sizes were clustering around him, just like sacrificial offerings around a sacred altar.

Let me take a look…

Go away.

Let me take a look, Zhou Keyi, what’s your inner demon?

Get lost…

The Jianxue Clan is already destroyed, destroyed by you. Those sects around the Jianxue Clan that relied on you have no survivors as well, everything because of you. Now, you have nothing left, but you still refuse to give up. Oh, look at what I found! There is still a person in your heart, and you are waiting for him to come and save you? Who is he? Let me take a look, ha-ha-ha.

Get lost!

Zhou Keyi opened his eyes abruptly, and black qi suddenly burst from him, and all the stone lotuses that wanted to feed on his blood were torn into pieces!

Black lotus juice splattered the place, resembling bloodstains, and smeared his robes, but Zhou Keyi did not care about it. This was his last burst of energy, like the dying radiance of the setting sun. Very soon, his eyes dimmed and became lifeless, and he closed them. At the same time, his limbs turned powerless as well.

New stone lotuses flourished on the ground, surrounding him once again.

Do you hope that person will come to your rescue?

Scram…

I’m infinitely merciful. Since you wish it, this venerable one will cater to your request.

No…

Don’t come.

Don’t…

Not far from his body, a giant statue was towering under the dark clouds.

It was dressed in a blood-red kasaya, and had jade prayer beads; sometimes, it frowned, and other times, it smiled, a fine and detailed piece of art.

Kasaya: robes worn by a Buddhist monk [1]

And now, the corners of its mouth were curled into a smile. However, it wasn’t merciful, but rather eerie.

The fifteenth day of the seventh month was close at hand.

Summary of the author’s notes for the next chapter: ZKY is not in love with CM

Tn:

1. Rip Yun Hai, I’ll always miss you  

2. This chapter concludes the 3rd Book. Book 4 is called [Wanlian Converts into the Relics of Buddhas].

3. Wanlian means 10,000 lotuses. Every time lotuses are mentioned here, you should think of the Wanlian Buddhist Temple (or Buddhism in general).

4. Congratulations on surviving through half of the novel (in terms of Chinese characters, the middle of the novel is not chapter 75, but this one)!

[1] Kasaya:

(zh wiki)