VAP - Chapter 83
Chapter 83: Flawless Cold Bone, The Peerless Sword Venerable (7)
That night, the two did indeed rest in the same room.
Yun Yijiu’s bedchamber was, like the Brocade Curtain Pavilion, exceptionally comfortable and luxurious—or perhaps even more so.
A silver-gray beast-hide rug covered the entire floor. In the center, the bed was wide and soft; just looking at it, one could imagine how pleasant it would be to lie upon it.
Cultivators were usually accustomed to forgoing sleep at night, substituting it with meditation. Yun Yijiu, however, had always retired to her bed as soon as night fell, punctual as clockwork, and nothing could change that.
Today was no different.
However, while the Wushuang Sword Venerable had settled down to sleep peacefully, Yue Du, on the other side of the bed, had no intention of sleeping.
She sat cross-legged, her posture perfectly upright, her hands forming a peculiar mudra. She was as still as a stone statue—she had begun her meditation.
Yue Du was demonstrating with her actions that she was not a person who coveted beautiful women!
Lying amidst a pile of soft, fluffy pillows, the seemingly ignored Yun Yijiu: “…”
She was not happy.
She didn’t know why, but she just wasn’t happy.
She lay there quietly for a long time with a cold expression, yet still couldn’t fall asleep.
With no other choice, she turned on her side to watch Yue Du cultivate, offering a bit of guidance based on the aura she sensed.
And so, the night passed.
The next day, a paper crane messenger fluttered over.
Yun Yijiu caught it casually and heard the paper crane speak: “This junior, Situ Que, has come to pay a visit. I have an important matter to discuss with the Venerable One and implore you to grant me an audience.”
Situ Que—the current Sect Master of the Lingtian Sword Sect.
Judging from the plot points related to him, Situ Que was an exceptionally powerful venerable. If Yun Yijiu was the number one person beneath ascension, then he was the number one person beneath Yun Yijiu.
The Wushuang Sword Venerable did not involve herself in the affairs of immortals and demons, so for the past thousand years, Situ Que had naturally become the leader of the righteous path.
He regarded the sect as his life, possessed a resolute heart, and was fair and strict. One could say he was the best Sect Master the Lingtian Sword Sect had had in several thousand years.
His arrival now probably meant he had already learned of yesterday’s events from Yun Tianwen.
Yun Yijiu agreed to see him.
In a short while, the Sect Master arrived before the hall. He was just as Yue Du had imagined: a tall, steady man who lacked some of the otherworldly detachment common among immortal cultivators but possessed the imposing air of a sect leader.
He clasped his hands in a salute. “This junior greets the Venerable One.”
Yun Yijiu said, “What is it?”
“I heard that the Venerable One brought the Duyue Demon Venerable back, and this junior was deeply worried, so I came to inquire.” Situ Que got straight to the point. His gaze shifted to Yun Yijiu’s side, sizing up Yue Du, who stood there with calm composure. His brow furrowed deeply.
Yue Du crossed her arms and snorted coldly. “What, has Sect Master Situ come to offer congratulations?”
Situ Que gave her a deep look. Just as Yue Du thought he was about to erupt in an angry rebuke, he sighed.
“Yue Zhuo, I know you hold resentment in your heart, but you are not a child anymore. Why must you do such a thing!”
Yue Du was a little bewildered. That tone… why did it sound so familiar?
Situ Que sighed again. “Alas. It is not my place to meddle in your family affairs. Tianwen is at the foot of the mountain right now. Go and talk with him.”
Yun Yijiu lifted her eyes, her expression frigid. “What do you mean by that?”
Something was wrong.
Yue Du’s analysis system was running at high speed, searching for any suspicious fragments from every little detail and integrating them into a final conclusion.
No way. Her eyes suddenly widened.
No way?
As it turned out, it was very much the way.
Situ Que’s grief-stricken voice confirmed her guess as reality. “Venerable One, you may not know this, but this Duyue Demon Venerable’s real name is Yun Yue Zhuo—”
“She is Tianwen’s third daughter, the one who took a wrong step, abandoned the sect, and betrayed her clan!”
Yue Du: “…”
Damn it.
Yue Zhuo, whose title meant “Crossing Moon,” was originally named Yun Yue Zhuo. She was from the Yun clan of the Lingtian Sword Sect, the third daughter of the patriarch, Yun Tianwen.
With her single fire spirit root, Yun Yue Zhuo was originally a peerless prodigy. She cultivated the Fire Separation Sword Style and reached the Nascent Soul stage in less than fifty years. Her future was boundlessly bright.
But it was this very person who began to doubt the path she cultivated.
She was unwilling to follow the Heavenly Dao. If one truly had to act according to the Heavenly Dao, then birth, aging, sickness, and death were all normal. Why then should cultivators seek eternal life?
The moment one stepped onto the path of cultivation, one was already acting against the heavens.
Rather than following the so-called ultimate principles, Yun Yue Zhuo wanted to follow her own heart, to see the vastness of the world, to judge right from wrong for herself!
But this was clearly at odds with the righteous path.
Yun Tianwen, who was still in the Mahayana stage at the time, discovered his daughter’s thoughts and was furious. He sent her to the Valley of Confinement and locked her in the Ice Cave for three years.
Three years of torment from the frigid yin energy did not “bend Yun Yue Zhuo back to the righteous path.” Instead, it strengthened her conviction to follow her heart.
In his anger, Yun Tianwen brought out a treasured family artifact and reclaimed the power of the Yun bloodline from his own daughter.
It was a pain like having one’s heart gouged out, a sorrow like having one’s bones scraped clean.
After that, Yun Yue Zhuo broke ties with her biological father and vanished from the world’s sight.
It wasn’t until several hundred years later that Yue Zhuo reappeared in the world as a rogue demon cultivator with great potential.
Times had changed. Outsiders had long forgotten the daughter of the Yun clan, and among demon cultivators, no one knew of Yue Zhuo’s origins, not even her closest female attendant.
…The above was the information Yue Du had managed to extract while talking with the Wuqiu Dao Venerable, Yun Tianwen.
Yue Du, as a system, was not okay.
Recalling Yun Tianwen’s expression and actions when they had met a few days ago, she now understood the deeper meaning.
The look of nostalgia and hatred in the stone-pillared pavilion was one of disappointment that she hadn’t lived up to expectations.
His furious reaction upon hearing her confess her feelings for Yun Yijiu was born from disbelief that she would dare to commit such insubordination, professing love to an ancestor.
And his nearly unhinged behavior was clearly a desire to kill his own daughter to cleanse the family name!
In the first world, she was a butler. In the second, a maid. Now, in the third world, she had been demoted to an Nth-generation descendant, and her lover had become her ancestor.
This was too much for her. It was really too much.
Yue Du nearly shed tears of sorrow.
Fortunately, Yue Du had always been a calm system. Even after suddenly learning such shocking news, she only needed a moment to regain her composure.
Her face remained serene, not showing the slightest hint of turmoil.
Across from her, Yun Tianwen was still questioning her. “Yun Yue Zhuo, you are utterly devoid of ethics, completely unreasonable! How dare you commit the crime of deceiving your ancestor—for the sake of the last shred of affection between you and the Sword Sect, I will permit you to leave on your own!”
“Otherwise, even if the Wushuang Venerable doesn’t hold it against you, I will personally take action to erase this stain!”
Yue Du gave Yun Tianwen a mocking, arrogant smile.
“The Wuqiu Dao Venerable has misunderstood. I have long since ceased to be a member of the Yun family, so how can there be any talk of deceiving an ancestor?”
“Could it be that you intend to ignore the blood ties of the Yun clan?” Yun Tianwen’s brows shot up in anger.
Yue Du shrugged with a light laugh. “Wuqiu Dao Venerable, I don’t like the sound of that. What do you mean, I’m ignoring our kinship? Weren’t you the one who expelled Yun Yue Zhuo from the family and struck her from the family records all those years ago?”
“As for blood ties, don’t misunderstand. I don’t have a single drop of Yun clan blood in me now. It was all drawn out by you with that treasured artifact. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten.”
Yun Tianwen was so angry he was speechless.
Yue Du added fuel to the fire. “I say, you should stop worrying about things that don’t concern you. Just wait to call me ‘Ancestral Grandmother’ in the future.”
If Yun Tianwen had been able to tolerate it before, this sentence was an outright provocation that no one could endure.
The aura of a Tribulation Transcendence venerable pressed down like mountains and seas, and he summoned an immortal art, preparing to use his Wuqiu Dao to suppress his rebellious daughter.
Yue Du sensed the dangerous aura. Her expression turned solemn as she tightened her grip on a talisman powerful enough to block an attack from a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator.
Just then, an extremely bright flash of sword light streaked past.
The sword light grazed the very tip of Yun Tianwen’s boot. Any further back and it would have missed; any further forward and it would have sliced off a small piece of his shoe and flesh.
Yun Tianwen was forced to abort his attack. “Wushuang Venerable!” he said, unwilling to yield.
Yun Yijiu lowered her gaze as if his words had not reached her ears. Her eyes were only on Yue Du.
Yue Du generously let her look, smiling. “Thank you for your help, Venerable One.”
Yun Yijiu: “Mm.”
Situ Que also flew down from the mountainside, rushing over anxiously.
“Tianwen, are you alright!”
“I’m fine,” Yun Tianwen said through gritted teeth. “Venerable One, you can’t…”
Yun Yijiu said slowly, “I can.”
“I recall you said yesterday that you were unwilling to have your tongue cut out. It seems you are willing today.”
Yun Tianwen fell silent abruptly.
“Who I keep is my freedom. Who I help is also my freedom. If you cannot stand the sight of it, then come and fight.”
Yun Yijiu thought for a moment, then added, “Oh, I don’t care about the affairs of immortals and demons, but since you all find this so difficult to accept, I will simply find another place.”
The Divine Province was vast. Where could she not reside?
The great elder who had guarded the sect for years was going to leave? This was a disaster!
Compared to that, letting a demon venerable stay in her own territory seemed like nothing.
After a brief moment of weighing the options, Situ Que waved his sleeve. “Then we shall not disturb the Venerable One any longer.”
With that, he signaled for Yun Tianwen to leave the mountain’s domain with him.
In the end, only one sentence was left behind:
“Duyue Demon Venerable, you’d best behave yourself.”
Comments
Post a Comment