Chapter 115 Whirlpool
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The rain gradually soaked the land, and as he walked forward, he unintentionally made pits with each step.
Despite the rain falling steadily throughout the night, the moon remained hidden behind the clouds, but one could still make out its faint presence.
The moon had a murky yellow color, and a dim, eerie crimson glow surrounded its edges, lending an eerie atmosphere to the quiet, long night.
It was reminiscent of the night he was born and the night he left the village. The wild animals in the mountains grew restless, and a pack of wolves filled the air with mournful howls, creating an immensely sorrowful scene. A young man descended from the mountain, gripping a sword that was stained with fresh blood.
Qin Qianhuan said, “Go, take someone’s life. Let the sight of blood awaken the dormant beast in you. The Heavenly Dao have returned your memories. The time has come for you to awaken.”
Ji Wuyou abruptly froze in his tracks, turned around, and cast a sharp gaze that tore through the endless night of the city.
He stared at Qin Qianhuan, his body rigid, and finally asked, “Who exactly is the Heavenly Dao?”
The rain trickled down his pale face, and a purplish-black circle formed in the young man’s eyes.
Qin Qianhuan playfully twirled the Buddhist prayer beads between her fingertips and smiled. “Weren’t you always curious about her identity?”
Ji Wuyou gritted his teeth tightly. When he formed an alliance with the Queen Mother of the West, there was one condition: she had to tell him who the woman inside that radiant white light was.
However, after the fierce battle among the gods at Xuanyun Peak, the deranged Queen Mother of the West even attempted to kill him. The matter was left unresolved, leaving him with fear and disgust towards her and her group.
Noticing his expression, Qin Qianhuan tilted her head and laughed. “Now, I’ll tell you. That person is the Heavenly Dao, and you are the son of the Heavenly Dao, a truly worthy pride of the Heavens. How about that? Are you satisfied?”
Ji Wuyou felt as if he had been punched and took a step back, mumbling in disbelief, “I am truly the pride of the Heavens?!”
He stumbled backward, colliding with a tree. His fingers grasped the trunk as he smiled bitterly in the rain, displaying a mix of madness and strangeness. “The pride of the Heavens—what am I, the so-called pride of the Heavens? What am I?”
He was the so-called pride of the Heavens, born in darkness, spending his entire life accompanied by feelings of inferiority and cowardice.
Qin Qianhuan felt that Ji Wuyou still had some intrigue, an unpredictable quality that made her want to laugh.
He feared her, dreaded her, and refused to get close to her, but he readily accepted her assistance as if it was his due.
Because she represented evil, he constantly berated her and kept his distance physically. However, when she spoke about the methods of cultivating demonic powers, he became quiet and listened attentively, planning to follow them.
Oh, before actually following them, he would struggle hesitantly, pretending to resist.
It was strange that despite wholeheartedly embracing evil, why couldn’t he shake off that facade of righteousness?
Furthermore, did he think that she was sent by the Heavenly Dao to be by his side, so he believed she should serve him as a slave and maid?
Hadn’t he learned his lesson from the incident with the Queen Mother of the West? One was a Goddess of the Three Mountains, the other was a Buddha of the Nine Heavens. Pride ran in their blood. How could they understand servitude?
However, Qin Qianhuan still believed that she was different from that insanely arrogant woman.
While she may have a mischievous and indulgent nature in the mortal realm, she acted on impulse and didn’t unleash a slaughter over slight insults.
When she wanted to kill, she usually didn’t need a reason, just like in the past when she wanted to save someone. Just like now, she wanted to help the Celestial Demon Clan in destroying the Heavenly Ladder.
Qin Qianhuan said, “But you are the pride of the Heavens. What defines goodness and what defines evil? If you truly understood the intentions of the Heavenly Dao, perhaps you wouldn’t reject your current actions so vehemently.”
Qin Qianhuan’s lips curved. She reattached the Buddhist prayer beads to her wrist. The rain washed her face, making the flame mark on her forehead even more vivid.
She softly spoke, “Ji Wuyou, have you ever wondered why the Heavenly Dao chose you, a descendant of the Celestial Demon Clan, to be her envoy?”
Ji Wuyou was caught off guard by her question. He lowered his head. The rain trickled down his cheeks through his hair, and deep inside, there was an anticipation he was reluctant to admit… Why?
Qin Qianhuan said, “Have you ever considered that when you kill, you might be saving the lives of all living beings in the world? Remember, the world encompasses countless creatures, not just humans.”
Ji Wuyou froze, his voice wavering. “….What?”
Qin Qianhuan’s smile deepened at the corner of her lips. “You want a reason to justify yourself, to maintain your innocence and righteousness. Well, I can give you that reason.”
Qin Qianhuan locked her gaze with his eyes and began to speak.
“In the cultivation world, cultivators have been using the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, going against the natural order. If they’re not stopped, one day the spiritual energy will deplete, and all lives will wither and perish. No one can escape death in this world. Cultivators are born to do evil, and you were created by the Heavenly Dao to deal with them. So, evil has never been your nature.”
These were the murmurs of the Heavenly Dao, but to her, they sounded absurd and laughable.
However, Qin Qianhuan was not surprised when she saw Ji Wuyou’s expression stiffen for a few seconds before he started to struggle in anguish. Indeed, only a fool would believe the words of a madwoman.
She sneered inwardly but continued slowly, “Furthermore, everything should not have been like this in the first place. You are the child of the Heavenly Dao, and since birth, you should have been the focus of the cultivation world. Unfortunately, you lost your sword.
“The ancient sword that opened the heavens, the Execution Sword. It should have resided in your heart, granting you unparalleled talent and rare spiritual roots. But all of this was taken away by someone else. They stole the sword that rightfully belonged to you, the sword given to you by heaven and earth.”
Ji Wuyou slowly lifted his head, his eyes filled with a dark purple aura.
The rain misted around them.
Qin Qianhuan said, “It’s your master, Pei Yuzhi.”
At that moment, the world seemed to collapse for Ji Wuyou, shattering his soul.
Qin Qianhuan spoke with a sweet tone, but her words were tainted with venom.
“It is said that when Pei Yuzhi appeared, his talent shook the four corners of the world. The Yunxiao Sect Master personally went to the Pei family and took him as a disciple. He was exceptionally brilliant and renowned at that time… but that should have been your destiny. All his glory was bestowed upon him by the Execution Sword.
“Therefore, it should have been you who joined the Yunxiao Sect, and it should have been you who garnered the admiration of thousands. Everything that he possesses, which you witnessed, should have been yours.”
The final straw pressed down.
Boom! A lightning bolt tore through the western sky.
“Ah… Ah… Ah… Ahhh!”
Ji Wuyou painfully clutched his head, squatting on the ground. His eyes, now a deep purple, emitted a crimson glow. “It should have been mine! It should have been mine! It should have been me!”
“Ah… Ah… Ahhh!”
How ridiculous all his envy and admiration seemed in this moment—
Yunxiao’s Yinghui Peak, during the season of falling rain, the white-robed youth who once captured everyone’s attention on that high platform, instantly shattered.
Ji Wuyou’s eyes bloodshot, he picked up his sword and staggered to his feet.
Qin Qianhuan cackled silently, her head lowered. Ji Wuyou, oh, he truly perfected the act of feigning madness and foolishness.
If only he paid a little more attention, he would realize her words were incorrect. The Execution Sword was obtained by Pei Yuzhi at the Institute of Celestial Ascension, but Ji Wuyou discarded everything and forced his thoughts to the extreme. He sought reasons to justify his descent into darkness.
Just like what she saw in his memories, he was in Zhonglian Village, wanting to escape alone and causing harm to others. However, stubbornly refusing to admit any wrongdoing, stubbornly consoling himself with the belief that sacrificing others for oneself was justified because he simply wanted to live.
Qin Qianhuan wished to lean forward and tell him that it didn’t have to be so exhausting. “I will do whatever it takes to become stronger,” would be more truthful than all these reasons, and no one would ridicule him for it.
But she decided to reveal another truth to him, “Moreover, if you don’t awaken soon, your people will likely perish.”
Tianya Daoren left the Institute of Celestial Ascension and returned to Yunxiao. Ten years ago, the news of Pei Yuzhi taking a disciple and publicly declaring his love to a random man had spread far and wide. On the journey back, Tianya Daoren couldn’t help but wonder what kind of disciple he had acquired.
However, upon stepping onto Tianqian Peak, his divine sense detected the emptiness of the vast peak—cold and desolate, devoid of any presence.
Tianya Daoren furrowed his brows, a slight shift in his heart. With a sweeping motion of his wide sleeves, he soared through the clouds and mist, arriving at the main hall.
The mirror in the main hall served not only to observe various places in Yunxiao but also to trace the whereabouts of disciples. Especially his Tianqian Peak disciples. With a single touch of the old man’s finger, a burst of blue light followed.
Within the mirror, there appeared a dark sky filled with flashing lightning, thunderous clouds surging. A mountain with branches and twigs came into view, alongside a path flowing with blood.
Tianya Daoren’s pupils contracted.
He saw his yet-to-be-met disciple, holding a sword, wrapped in a straw cloak, striding forward with a decisive aura into a village.
The old man’s white hair fluttered, his Daoist robe billowing. His brows furrowed, a coldness settling in his heart.
Upon returning to Yunxiao, instead of meeting with the 108 Peak Masters, the first thing he did was teleport directly to a secluded and beloved little village in the distant Canghua continent.
As he stepped out, Tianqian Peak remained rainless, but dark clouds loomed overhead, a harbinger of an impending mountain rain.
A ship floated upon the Sea of Reincarnation.
Pei Jing sat on the boat, restless, always wanting to reach into the water and retrieve something. But he was disappointed, for the Sea of Reincarnation was nothing more than a lifeless sea, devoid of anything beneath its surface. The deep blue sea water failed to reflect even a mere image.
Pei Jing said, “This place is truly impoverished. I had wanted to bring you something.”
Chu Junyu said calmly, “Are you expecting me to unleash the Celestial Demon below in order to satisfy my urge to kill?”
Pei Jing responded, “…Seems to make some sense.”
The Blood Spider Mother had long grown tired of this pair of brash youngsters. She sneered, “At a time like this, you still concern yourselves with trivial matters. Aren’t you afraid of meeting your demise here, becoming a pair of fugitive lovebirds?” The middle-aged man, who sought to comprehend the Dao through killing his wife, looked at them with disdain and mockery.
Pei Jing glanced at her and said, “You two are allowed to harbor deep grievances, but I’m not allowed to enjoy some romance?”
The Blood Spider Mother laughed, “Hehehehehehe.”
Pei Jing pointed behind her and said, “Stop laughing, Auntie. Take a look at what’s behind you.”
The Blood Spider Mother turned pale and everyone turned their heads as well. In an instant, the water surged and seemed to form a vortex below. However, right in front of them, behind the Blood Spider Mother—suddenly, a black mist appeared, obscuring the horizon, pitch-black and heavy. It resembled an ancient and ferocious behemoth, casting a stifling sensation upon anyone who laid eyes on it.
“The water is sinking!”
The vortex beneath the boat grew larger and swifter. They were in the center, descending along with the eye of the whirlpool.
To enter the inner city, outsiders could only pass through Zhuihun Palace, from the Tower of Spiritual Refinement to the Sea of Reincarnation. So, where should they go now? Straight into the Nine Hidden Demon Realm? Would the Celestial Demon Clan be so relaxed about Zhuihun Palace? Were they not afraid of encountering someone like Pei Jing and Chu Junyu?
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