Volume Four: Those Years When I Was a Master
[Rough and not set in stone: Foundation Establishment → Enlightenment → Integration → Temptation → Golden Core → Nascent Soul → Soul Division → Body Integration → Void Glimpse → Mahayana → Void Shattering → Tribulation Transcendence → Supreme Immortal]
A Beauty That Outshines the Flowers
The three of them set off together, returning to Qianyuan Upper Palace.
Yu Wan Zhao looked at Liu Qingsui, “Why are you still following us? Aren’t you going back to the Demon Realm!?”
“I just came from the Demon Realm, why would I go back?” Seeing Yu Wan Zhao’s attitude of unloading the mill to kill the donkey1, Liu Qingsui said speechlessly, “If I return with you two, and Sect Master Zhong makes a move on you, I can still help you out.”
Wen Nuan spoke up from the side: “She has me.”
Who needs your help?!
Yu Wan Zhao smiled smugly, wrapping her arm around Wen Nuan’s with a proud expression.
“…” Liu Qingsui pouted. “I was just so bored in the Demon Realm that I thought I’d come back to the mortal world for some fun, listen to some operas, and read some storybooks.”
The Demon Realm was dull and tasteless. Every day was nothing but fighting. It wasn’t like the mortal realm with its many amusements. Liu Qingsui’s greatest loves were opera and storybooks. Because he couldn’t stay in the mortal realm for long, he could only buy some storybooks to take back to the Demon Realm to read. Once he finished them, he would return to the mortal realm to buy the latest ones and watch the newest operas.
The moment the three arrived at Qianyuan Upper Palace, just as Yu Wan Zhao and Liu Qingsui had expected, before they could even step through the main gate, the Xuanfeng Sword descended from the sky, plunging into the ceramic tiles in front of them.
The Xuanfeng Sword let out the resonant cry of a dragon, its aura imposing, its sharp edge formidable.
The three fell silent.
Wen Nuan sighed, pulled out the Xuanfeng, and commanded the sword to recognize its master. Others would have been unable to touch it, but the bond between Zhong Baixuan and Wen Nuan was deep, so she could naturally pick up the Xuanfeng Sword.
“Let’s go,” Wen Nuan said, holding the sword in her right hand and taking Yu Wan Zhao’s with her left. “Don’t be afraid, Shizun is here.”
Yu Wan Zhao took a deep breath and nodded emphatically. “Mm-hmm, this disciple trusts Shizun.”
Liu Qingsui, at a loss, watched the two walk in hand-in-hand, and he followed behind them into Qianyuan Upper Palace.
The three did not go to the main hall of Qianyuan Upper Palace, but went directly to Wen Nuan’s Qinggu Peak.
Qinggu Peak, with its spiritual mountains and beautiful waters. Wen Nuan’s residence, “Old Home,” was hidden within a grove of peach trees.
As the three walked into the peach grove, they saw three people sitting in the pavilion within: Zhong Baixuan, Rong Qi, and Chen Zifan.
Six pairs of eyes met, and sparks flew.
Liu Qingsui’s hand moved to the Blood Cloud Sword at his waist, ready to strike.
Zhong Baixuan curled his five fingers, recalling the Xuanfeng Sword into his grasp. He pointed it at Yu Wan Zhao, his eyes narrowing.
Rong Qi summoned his Baochan Nine Axes2, and Chen Zifan flicked out her Qingyou Dragon Whip3.
The atmosphere between the two sides was on daggers drawn4, on a knife’s edge5.
Yu Wan Zhao made no move to resist, not even circulating her demonic spiritual power, simply facing the fury of Zhong Baixuan’s group with a calm expression.
The mistakes she made, she should rightly bear the consequences.
Wen Nuan looked between the two sides. It seemed as though a single spark was all that was needed to ignite this war.
She took Yu Wan Zhao’s hand, sighed helplessly, and walked before Zhong Baixuan’s group, smiling. “Senior Brother Zhong, Senior Brother Rong, Junior Sister Chen, let me introduce you. This is Yu Wan Zhao, my Dao Companion.”
In an instant, there was a deathly silence.
Clang—
The sound of weapons falling.
Zhong Baixuan closed his eyes and said with hatred, “F#ck!”
Chen Zifan glared, horrified. “Huh?”
Rong Qi was confused, then it dawned on him. “Hah?”
Liu Qingsui sheathed his sword and waved a hand. “Whoa!”
Yu Wan Zhao’s pupils trembled as she said with joyous surprise, “Mm.”
Wen Nuan looked at everyone’s expressions, pulled Yu Wan Zhao tightly into her embrace, and smiled dazzlingly. “Senior Brother, Junior Sister, Wan Zhao and I are together. Will you bless us?”
Zhong Baixuan was so angry he didn’t even bother to pick up the Xuanfeng, turning to leave.
Chen Zifan opened her mouth, but in the end, she let out a long sigh and also flew off after Zhong Baixuan.
Rong Qi, failing to grasp the situation, walked up to Wen Nuan and asked, bewildered, “Junior Sister, what are you talking about?”
Wen Nuan gripped the back of Yu Wan Zhao’s neck, lowered her head, and kissed Yu Wan Zhao on the lips. Under Rong Qi’s dumbfounded expression, she said calmly, “This is what I’m talking about.”
As if he had received a tremendous shock, Rong Qi flew away in a panic, not caring which way he went.
And so, without losing a single soldier6, the matter was perfectly resolved.
Liu Qingsui silently gave Wen Nuan a thumbs-up. Wen Nuan smiled slightly. “It was a small matter.”
Yu Wan Zhao wrapped her arms around Wen Nuan’s waist, smiling sweetly in her embrace.
Mornings on Qinggu Peak began with a cup of clear tea. Yu Wan Zhao brewed the tea and placed it on the stone table, then began to cultivate her spiritual arts in the peach grove.
Now that Shizun had reached the late-stage Mahayana realm and was only one step away from becoming a Supreme Immortal Venerable and ascending to the Celestial Realm, she naturally couldn’t fall too far behind. If Shizun went to the Celestial Realm and left her all alone in the mortal world to cultivate, Yu Wan Zhao felt miserable just thinking about it.
Liu Qingsui stayed on Qinggu Peak, but he went down the mountain early in the morning to listen to opera. He heard that an opera troupe had come to Yubin Prefecture7 at the foot of the mountain, performing all sorts of storybooks every day, and everyone who had seen or heard them gave nothing but praise.
Yu Wan Zhao had once gone with Liu Qingsui to see if it was really that good, intending to bring Shizun along if it was. In the end, she couldn’t make heads or tails of it, but Liu Qingsui ended up crying his eyes out.
From then on, Liu Qingsui continued to watch his operas and storybooks, while she and Shizun stayed on Qinggu Peak, drinking tea, cultivating, sleeping, and watching the sun rise and the moon set, living in bliss.
“Shizun, I’ve finished training.” Yu Wan Zhao came before Wen Nuan, sat on the stone stool beside her, and looked at her.
Wen Nuan poured a cup of tea and passed it to her, wiping the sweat from her brow. “Finished training?”
Yu Wan Zhao drank the tea, quenching her thirst. “Mm-hmm, this disciple has a faint feeling that I’m about to break through.”
In no more than three days, she should be able to break through to the mid-stage Mahayana realm.
“You’ve finished training, so now it’s my turn to train a little.”
“What does Shizun still need to train?” Yu Wan Zhao asked, puzzled.
Wen Nuan smiled faintly and, with a flick of her sleeve, returned the tea set on the stone table to her spirit ring. She then scooped Yu Wan Zhao up, placed her on the stone table, and looked at the flustered girl.
The corner of her mouth hooked up as she leaned in close. “To practice the position we didn’t succeed at last time.”
“….”
A clear breeze swept by, scattering the peach blossoms and causing the beauty to shed tears and gasp unceasingly.
When Liu Qingsui returned to Qinggu Peak, he discovered that Yu Wan Zhao’s cultivation had broken through.
“When did you break through?” he asked.
Yu Wan Zhao replied, “Yesterday.”
Liu Qingsui felt that Yu Wan Zhao didn’t look well, seeming very weak. “Was this breakthrough very difficult? Why do you look so weak?”
He looked around. “Where is Elder Yu?”
“Shizun was called away by Sect Master Zhong,” Yu Wan Zhao said, leaning against a tree with a hand on her waist, taking a long breath. “It wasn’t difficult. It’s just that after this breakthrough, Shizun gave me a reward.”
Liu Qingsui’s eyes lit up. “A reward? What kind of reward? Spirit pills and wondrous medicines? Or celestial artifacts and magic treasures?”
Yu Wan Zhao rubbed her sore waist. “Neither.”
Liu Qingsui frowned. “Then what was it?”
“Why are you asking so many questions?” Yu Wan Zhao’s waist was so sore she couldn’t be bothered to explain much to Liu Qingsui.
“Stingy,” Liu Qingsui pouted.
He tilted his head and saw Zhong Baixuan walking over from a distance, his brows knitting slightly. “Sect Master Zhong?”
Yu Wan Zhao looked up and immediately stood. “Sect Master Zhong?”
Wasn’t Shizun called away by Zhong Baixuan?
Why is Zhong Baixuan appearing on Qinggu Peak?!
“Can we talk alone?” Zhong Baixuan said, glancing meaningfully at Liu Qingsui.
Liu Qingsui, taking the hint, turned and vanished.
Seeing Liu Qingsui leave, Zhong Baixuan looked at Yu Wan Zhao, his eyes deep and dark. “I heard you broke through to the early-stage Mahayana yesterday. Congratulations.”
Yu Wan Zhao hadn’t expected Zhong Baixuan’s first words to be congratulations on her cultivation breakthrough.
She was taken aback by the favor. “Many thanks, Sect Master Zhong.”
The two were silent for a moment before Yu Wan Zhao spoke first. “Shizun was just called away by a disciple from Qianyuan Upper Palace, who said that Sect Master Zhong was looking for her?”
“I did that on purpose. I wanted to send Wen Nuan away to talk to you alone,” Zhong Baixuan admitted frankly.
Yu Wan Zhao’s brow furrowed. “I wonder, what did Sect Master Zhong come to Qinggu Peak to speak with Wan Zhao about?”
He’s not planning to make a move on me while Shizun is away, is he?!
“Your aptitude is excellent, your talent is high. You are a good seedling for cultivation. To have reached such a realm in just over a decade since entering Qianyuan Upper Palace is truly not easy,” Zhong Baixuan said, looking at Yu Wan Zhao and pursing his lips. “I fear that in a short time, you will be able to break through to mid-stage Mahayana, undergo the tribulation, and become a Supreme Immortal Venerable.”
“What is the meaning behind Sect Master Zhong’s words?”
Yu Wan Zhao didn’t believe Zhong Baixuan had come this time just to praise her alone. There must be a hidden meaning in his words.
Zhong Baixuan said in a heavy voice, “Do you know what it is that cultivators pursue their entire lives?”
“To attain the Dao and become an immortal, to live as long as heaven and earth.”
As a cultivator, Yu Wan Zhao naturally understood the lifelong wish of her peers.
“Then tell me, if a cultivator cannot achieve her dream, what happens?”
“She becomes gloomy and depressed, and dies without resolution.”
Zhong Baixuan smiled, a smile full of desolation and gloom. “Yu Wan Zhao, if I could go back to the very beginning, I would rather have killed you than let Wen Nuan suffer this ordeal.”
Yu Wan Zhao knew that Zhong Baixuan couldn’t let go of what happened five years ago, and knew he wished he could kill her to vent the hatred in his heart.
Now, aside from “I’m sorry,” she had nothing else to say.
Hearing Yu Wan Zhao’s apology, Zhong Baixuan gave a sarcastic laugh. “What’s the use of being sorry? Can it bring back Wen Nuan’s path to immortality?”
Yu Wan Zhao’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“Do you really think the Futu Pagoda is so easy to pass through!?” Zhong Baixuan said in a heavy voice. “Of those who entered the Futu Pagoda in the past, almost none survived. The fact that Wen Nuan is the only one to have walked out of the Futu Pagoda alive doesn’t mean she is powerful. It’s because she cut off her own future.”
Yu Wan Zhao’s pupils trembled, her fists clenching. “What do you mean?”
Zhong Baixuan looked at Yu Wan Zhao, an icy chill overflowing from his eyes. His lips moved, letting out a wretched laugh, and the words he spoke instantly froze Yu Wan Zhao.
“Wen Nuan, she is henceforth fated to never walk the path of immortality. No matter how hard she cultivates, late-stage Mahayana is her end point, a chasm she can never cross in her entire life.”
“You can attain the Dao and become an immortal, a supreme, ageless Celestial Venerable. But she will not. She will live on, mediocre, in the mortal realm, then slowly grow old, die, and eventually dissipate between heaven and earth.”
These past few days, Wen Nuan could feel Yu Wan Zhao’s passion for her. During that kind of thing, no matter how she tormented her, she would endure and cooperate, which made her feel that something was vaguely wrong.
“System, has her blackening value risen!?” Wen Nuan asked worriedly, looking at the sleeping Yu Wan Zhao in her arms.
The system checked: 【It hasn’t risen. What’s wrong?】
Wen Nuan touched her heart. “I just feel like something isn’t right.”
【Is it because the female lead is about to break through in her cultivation, and you’re worried?】
The female lead was, after all, the one chosen by the Heavenly Dao, so her talent and aptitude were naturally exceptional, and her cultivation speed was beyond comparison.
What’s more, she cultivated both demonic and spiritual power, so her realm breakthroughs were like riding a rocket.
Wen Nuan sighed in relief. “Perhaps.”
【Don’t worry, she’s the female lead chosen by the Heavenly Dao. Becoming a Supreme Immortal Venerable is a certainty. Now that there are no more misunderstandings to ruin your relationship, the remaining 0.4 of the blackening value will be cleared soon.】
“Okay,” Wen Nuan said, holding Yu Wan Zhao and closing her eyes, sleeping peacefully.
As her breathing gradually evened out, Yu Wan Zhao slowly opened her eyes.
She looked at Wen Nuan’s face: brows like ink paintings, a nose like carved jade, lips dyed the red of peach blossoms.
Her fingertips silently landed on that pair of affectionate peach blossom eyes. A sense of sorrow gradually emerged in the depths of Yu Wan Zhao’s own eyes.
She sobbed softly, calling out with longing, “Wen Nuan….”
The peach blossoms were in their initial slumber, their rich fragrance gently wafting over.
Wen Nuan opened her eyes, feeling as if she had slept for an eternity, for many days.
The space in her arms was empty. Wen Nuan got up to search.
“Wan Zhao—?”
She wasn’t in the courtyard. She wasn’t in the peach grove.
There was no movement from the Quexie on her hand either. Logically, with the Quexie, it was impossible for Yu Wan Zhao to be more than a hundred meters away from her. But Wen Nuan searched a radius of a hundred li8 and still did not see Yu Wan Zhao’s figure.
Wen Nuan’s heart grew anxious and agitated, like an ant on a hot pan, unable to find a moment of peace.
“System, check my body.”
It was impossible for her to have slept for so long, and impossible for her to have been unresponsive when Yu Wan Zhao left her.
【Okay, checking now.】 The system initiated a scan. 【Check complete. The host has been placed under a spirit curse and a seal.】
“A spirit curse and a seal?” Wen Nuan’s brow furrowed tightly. “What do you mean?”
【The spirit curse is called the Chaos Curse. One who is cursed will sleep for a month without waking. Only the caster can break it. However, because the host’s cultivation realm is very high, you were able to wake up in a short amount of time.】
【The seal is called the Quexie Seal. It is a forbidden curse that controls the Quexie to prevent it from backlashing against both parties. Even if one of them exceeds a distance of a hundred meters, the Quexie will not backlash against either person.】
Wen Nuan felt a bone-deep chill and gritted her teeth: 【Use the Quexie to locate Yu Wan Zhao.】
The Quexie was bound to both of their ring fingers. Wen Nuan could use it to find Yu Wan Zhao.
The system immediately began locating her and cried out in surprise: 【Ah!】
“What is it?”
【I’ve found the female lead’s whereabouts.】
“Where is she?”
【The ninth floor of the Futu Pagoda.】
Wen Nuan was stunned into place, unable to recover for a long time.
Her robes were blown open by the wind. Zhong Baixuan looked at Wen Nuan, who had landed beside him, and sighed. “You found out after all.”
Wen Nuan glared at him and said sharply, “Zhong Baixuan, are you crazy? Why did you let her enter the Futu Pagoda?!”
“She went willingly,” Zhong Baixuan said calmly.
“You told her?”
“Why shouldn’t I tell her?” Zhong Baixuan looked directly at Wen Nuan. “You gave everything for her. On what grounds should I not tell her?”
“This is my own business, it doesn’t need your interference?!” Wen Nuan said angrily.
Zhong Baixuan roared furiously, “Yu Wen Nuan—”
Wen Nuan retorted just as fiercely, “Zhong Baixuan—”
The two looked at each other, their eyes filled with anger, dissatisfaction, unwillingness, and shame. Too many emotions were intertwined, like a thick fog enveloping them.
—Suffocating.
Zhong Baixuan closed his eyes, as if in compromise and resignation. “I was just making a bet on how true her heart is to you.”
“You should be happy. This way, you two will never be separated.” He looked towards the Futu Pagoda. “And this ending is also what Yu Wan Zhao wanted.”
The moment Yu Wan Zhao willingly stepped into the Futu Pagoda, Zhong Baixuan was greatly shaken, yet in that same instant, he smiled in relief.
It turned out he was already tired, already weary.
Wen Nuan watched as Zhong Baixuan’s eyes reddened before he turned and left with a graceful air.
“Senior Brother….”
Zhong Baixuan did not turn back, only waving his hand. The tears that fell were shattered by the wind, and his figure was also scattered by the wind.
【Did he… have feelings for you?】 the system mused.
Childhood sweethearts, innocent playmates of childhood.
How could there not be joy? How could there be resentment?
Although Wen Nuan was not the original owner of the body, they both knew clearly in their hearts that their feelings for Zhong Baixuan had always been that for a Sect Master, a Senior Brother.
There had never been romantic love.
Wen Nuan knew it, the original owner knew it, and Zhong Baixuan knew it just as clearly.
An unrequited love is a cultivation journey that comes to nothing. Some see through it and attain enlightenment; others fall into obsession, willingly debasing themselves.
But Zhong Baixuan was not one of them. He had been soberly deceiving himself all along.
Only now, he had been forced into enlightenment.
The sun and stars shifted.
As the sky was just beginning to brighten, the great doors of the Futu Pagoda were slowly pushed open.
Wen Nuan’s eyes flickered as she looked at the person walking out from that gate.
A bloody mess, no longer resembling a person, stumbling towards her.
Wen Nuan just stood there, watching as every step Yu Wan Zhao took was a difficult one.
Consider it a punishment. A punishment for being so disobedient.
A short walk of just a few steps was torturously stretched into an entire hour by Yu Wan Zhao.
Yu Wan Zhao walked up to Wen Nuan. Seeing her reddened eyes and tear-streaked cheeks, she felt waves of pain in her heart.
She raised a blood-soaked hand to wipe the corner of Wen Nuan’s eye, her voice strained. “Shizun, don’t cry…”
“Was the Futu Pagoda… fun?”
The moment Wen Nuan opened her mouth, her tears burst their dam.
“I’m sorry, Shizun, this disciple… won’t dare to do it again next time.” Yu Wan Zhao looked at Wen Nuan with tear-filled eyes, choking out, “Shizun, don’t cry, this disciple’s… heart aches for you.”
Wen Nuan wouldn’t listen, her tears like a broken string of pearls, sliding down drop by drop.
The two just looked at each other, crying silently, until their eyes were hazy and blurred, unable to see the other clearly.
Fingers sliding over her spiritual bracelet, Yu Wan Zhao clenched her right hand into a fist, extending it before Wen Nuan, and coaxed, “Shizun, don’t cry. This disciple will give you something good.”
Wen Nuan wiped her tears and pried open Yu Wan Zhao’s hand. In her palm lay a blood-stained peach blossom petal.
It also stained her eyes red.
“The peach blossoms are beautiful, but the person… is more delicate than the flowers.” Yu Wan Zhao panted heavily, smiling. “This sentence… this disciple spoke it to you… from the heart.”
She had never been spouting nonsense. That one time, she had only said a lie against her conscience because she was angry.
The pain rising in her chest made Wen Nuan’s tears flow even more fiercely. She clutched the peach blossom petal in her hand and threw her arms around Yu Wan Zhao.
“I love you, Yu Wan Zhao.” Wen Nuan’s chest burned, her eyes hazy with tears.
Yu Wan Zhao’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Wh… what?”
“I love you, Yu Wan Zhao.” Wen Nuan repeated it again. “Yu Wan Zhao, I love you.”
Yu Wan Zhao endured the pain and laughed out loud. “Shizun, are you saying… you love me, is that right?”
She didn’t dare to be certain, so she wanted to ask one more time.
Wen Nuan didn’t care about her white robes being stained with blood, nor did she care that she was currently covered in it.
Just consider it their wedding clothes, because she wanted to kiss her bride.
A swath of warmth covered her lips. Yu Wan Zhao felt Wen Nuan’s surging love, coming on like a tidal wave.
As if it would drown her in this scorching sea.
“I love you, Yu Wan Zhao.”
Even loving you with my life seems insignificant.
Amidst the entanglement of their lips and tongues, Wen Nuan heard Yu Wan Zhao’s trembling response.
“Wen Nuan, I love you too.”
System: 【Beep! Female lead’s blackening value cleared to zero. Constructing replication body. Task taker will soon be extracted from the mission world. Please prepare.】
【Three, two, one… Replication body construction successful. Task taker extracting!】
—Wait for me.
The author has something to say:
Author-jun: Let us meet in the next world and fall in love again.
(I’m tired, go by yourself)
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