VAP - Chapter 102
Chapter 102: Flawless Cold Bone, The Peerless Sword Venerable (End)
The details of what happened next were a bit of a blur to Yue Du.
It wasn't that she had forgotten, but rather that she was so preoccupied with another matter that she hadn't paid much attention to this one.
Situ Que's punishment seemed irrelevant. Ever since the cold, hard words "no solution" had been uttered, Yue Du's mind was consumed with returning to Wushuang Hall as quickly as possible to study the items Situ Chu had left behind.
As long as there was the slightest possibility of finding a solution, she would never give up.
However, she couldn't just ignore Situ Que either.
After confirming that he had no more information about the secret technique to offer, Yue Du turned and smiled faintly. "Everyone, is there anything else you'd like to say to him? If not, then this Venerable won't stand on ceremony."
An elder's expression turned grim. "What do you mean by that?"
Yue Du said, "Naturally, it's time for revenge and to settle grudges."
Upon hearing this, the several venerables fell into a strange silence, exchanging glances.
The elder, in disbelief, immediately turned to Yun Yijiu. "Venerable, this junior knows you hold a grudge against the Sect Master's lineage, but..."
But what? That the Lingtian Sword Sect couldn't function without a Sect Master, and they should consider the bigger picture?
These were the thoughts in the elder's mind, yet he suddenly found himself unable to speak them.
In truth, if one thought about it carefully, severing someone's path to immortality was no different from a slow, torturous death. It was an irreconcilable feud. If he had been the one treated this way, how could he possibly harbor no resentment?
At a time like this, even if Yun Yijiu wanted to slaughter Situ Que's entire family, it would be a reasonable outlet for her anger, let alone just having his soul obliterated.
But the elder and Situ Que had been close friends for thousands of years. Even knowing his friend had made a grave mistake, he simply couldn't accept the outcome of his soul being scattered to the winds.
Besides, Situ... his intentions were truly good at heart.
"Perhaps... perhaps the Venerable could spare his life and let him atone for his sins with the rest of his days..."
"Stop right there," Yue Du sneered. "Fifth Elder, this Venerable understands your intention to plead for him, but this is Ah Jiu's karma. It's best you don't get involved."
The Fifth Elder was about to say more but was stopped by Medicine Venerable Posuo.
"Say no more," she said in a low but extremely firm tone. "Yue Zhuo is right. This is what Situ deserves. We have no right to interfere."
"So we're just going to abandon Situ?!"
Medicine Venerable Posuo was silent for a long moment before sighing. "Emotionally, I feel regret for Situ. But logically, he must bear the consequences of his evil actions."
Facing the wooden puppet, Medicine Venerable Posuo closed her eyes, gave a deep bow, and turned to leave.
As she left, she whispered, "Yue Zhuo, I'm sorry."
Among the venerables present, many were on good terms with Situ Que and had received favors from him over the years.
Some stood by and watched, some tried to persuade, and some kicked him while he was down. But not a single person actually stepped forward to stand in front of Situ Que.
Yue Du asked, "Is everyone finished talking?"
Situ Que shouted, "All of you, leave! I die for a worthy cause, and I do so willingly!"
His words were quite interesting, but Yue Du couldn't be bothered with him. He was the type of person who would go to his death without ever understanding what he did wrong. There was no need to waste her breath.
Beside Yue Du, Yun Yijiu lowered her eyes. A snow-white glimmer, sharp as the edge of a sword, lit up at her fingertips.
For her, erasing Situ Que's primordial spirit didn't even require drawing her sword; a single thread of sword qi would suffice.
"Wait!"
Yue Du: "..." Who is it now?
It was Mu Xingluo's master, Star River Sword Venerable, who stepped out from the crowd. He stared at the wooden puppet, his expression unreadable.
"If we are to speak of karma, then it should be this Venerable who ends him."
Yue Du asked, "How so?"
"Xingluo is my disciple. According to his words, Xingluo was also afflicted by the secret technique. It's just that her cultivation is still shallow. As soon as Situ Que ascends or perishes, the technique will be broken."
Yue Du recalled the plot of the original storyline.
Why was it that Mu Xingluo, despite having traces of the secret technique on her, was able to ascend smoothly, completely unaware that she had ever been bound by anything?
It was because the Situ Que of the original story had already perished, killed by demonic cultivators. When he died, Mu Xingluo had only reached the Mahayana Stage, so the binding naturally disappeared.
This was also why the ring she had seen on Mu Xingluo was white, while Yun Yijiu's was black. One was not yet stable, while the other had been fixed in place for a long time; it was natural for them to be different.
Star River Sword Venerable insisted on executing Situ Que himself. Seeing that Yun Yijiu had silently withdrawn her hand, Yue Du took a step back. "Please."
She had her own considerations. After all, the one who had truly schemed against Ah Jiu was Situ Wen. Situ Que was merely the only one who currently knew about it. According to the laws of karma, it wasn't impossible for Ah Jiu to kill him, but it was still a bit of a stretch.
If the master of the direct victim, Mu Xingluo, took action, the karmic link became much more reasonable and wouldn't negatively affect Ah Jiu.
The aggrieved party, Star River Sword Venerable, was a man with a righteous and proper appearance. He was always stern and unflappable, but his devotion to the sect was no less than anyone else's.
It was for this very reason that when Situ Que heard Star River Sword Venerable's words, his entire wooden body stiffened.
"Star River, why even you—"
Before he could finish, he was sliced in two by the Star River Sword.
The upper half of the wooden puppet fell to the ground. Its simply drawn eyes moved one last time before the light within them faded completely.
Only Yue Du, who was closest to him, knew that in the instant Star River Sword Venerable drew his sword and swung down, he had uttered a single sentence, extremely softly and quickly.
—"I see her as my own daughter."
At that very same moment.
In a quiet room not far away, Mu Xingluo was still cultivating. With her level of perception, she was completely unable to detect the changes occurring within her own body.
The three rings that had silently linked her to a formation array shattered into points of light on this day, then swiftly dissolved into the void.
Star River Sword Venerable's clean and decisive act of soul-destruction left the other venerables with nothing to say. After all, the man was dead. What was the point of arguing any further?
It would be a futile effort.
Yue Du and Yun Yijiu left together.
Yue Du was truly eager to return; her research on the secret technique could not be delayed for a single moment.
During the short journey back, Yun Yijiu looked down at her and suddenly said, "You're still unhappy." She paused. "Is it because there's no solution, or because of the Situ family's affair?"
Yue Du said softly, "A bit of both, I suppose. The former is fine, don't you worry. That technique can't be unsolvable. I will definitely find a way."
Her tone was resolute, but in her heart, she had no confidence at all.
As for the latter...
Yue Du's feelings toward the Situ family were complicated. She rationally knew that the sole perpetrator was as dead as could be, but she still found it hard to let go.
Yun Yijiu pondered for a moment, then struck her left palm with her right fist. "It's their fault, then. I'll go wipe out their clan. It won't take much effort."
For a fleeting moment, Yue Du thought the suggestion was rather good, but she quickly shook her head. "How could we do that? The innocent should not be punished."
"They made you unhappy, so they are not innocent."
Yue Du didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She shook her head, her heart feeling a little warm and a little soft.
She leaned against Yun Yijiu's shoulder and gently closed her eyes.
After returning to Wushuang Hall, the two began to study the secret technique. However, they were both amateurs when it came to formations and lacked a clear direction for the time being.
After Situ Que's death, the Lingtian Sword Sect fell into chaos for a while.
Yue Du had previously considered how to stabilize the situation, but ever since she learned that the Situ father and son had acted against Ah Jiu solely for the sake of the sect, she no longer wanted to get involved.
Not taking her anger out on the entire Lingtian Sword Sect was already a sign of Yue Du's rationality prevailing. Help them restore order?
Impossible.
No matter how chaotic things got, no one would dare cause trouble on Wushuang Peak. So she let them be.
The result of her indifference was that the new Sect Master came to visit them personally.
The new Sect Master was naturally not from the Situ family. She wasn't even from one of the sect's prestigious families; she had been a relative unknown before this.
To emerge victorious in such a chaotic situation, this woman was likely no simple character.
"Venerable Wushuang, Venerable Duyue," the new Sect Master said with a smile and a bow. "I have long heard of your great names but never had the fortune to meet you. Today, my wish is finally fulfilled."
The new Sect Master was here to discuss a partnership. To put it simply, she requested that Yun Yijiu make a public appearance to show that she had not distanced herself from the sect because of Situ Que.
As for the reward—
"I hear the two of you are seeking a way to undo a certain secret formation technique?"
"This junior is untalented, but I happen to be acquainted with a reclusive formation master. His attainments in the field are profound, and he excels at tracing techniques back to their source and completing them."
The new Sect Master stated that regardless of whether the Wushuang Sword Venerable was willing to make an appearance, she would invite the formation master to come. This was the sect's apology to Yun Yijiu for the thousands of years she had been unable to ascend.
Under the formation master's deconstructive explanations, Yue Du quickly grasped the essentials of the technique and began trying to unravel the formation at the core of the mountain's protective array.
This project took three months. After confirming that the solution was effective, Yun Yijiu sealed the formation back up exactly as it was.
"If I undo the secret technique now, the lightning tribulation will descend," Yun Yijiu said.
After the tribulation, she would be forced to ascend, but Yue Du was still in the Mahayana Stage and could only remain in the Qianhong Divine Province.
To go to the Immortal Realm alone and have to wait there for her Dao Companion to cultivate and ascend... she would rather continue using Situ Chu's human-formation link to stay behind and undo it when Yue Du's cultivation level was close.
Yue Du, for her part, wanted to drag things out until the mission's final deadline before leaving.
The two were in perfect agreement.
Nine years. To go from the Mahayana Stage to the peak of the Tribulation Transcendence Stage, Yue Du could be said to have set a record for cultivation speed at this level—the previous record holder was Yun Yijiu.
Her dual cultivation with her Dao Companion had contributed significantly to this achievement.
Many things happened over those nine years.
For instance, the turmoil experienced by the Lingtian Sword Sect, Mu Xingluo and Ji Changqing traveling the world together, and the Youming Demon Venerable taking a female demonic cultivator as his Dao Companion—their relationship was also one of mutual benefit, but this time, when the little brat Ming Yezheng crossed her, he was struck down and killed on the spot.
It was, one might say, long-overdue karmic retribution.
In the final year, the primordial spirit of the Duyue Demon Venerable, Yue Zhuo, fully recovered and separated from the Yun Clan's jade pendant.
Yue Du couldn't tell her the truth either, so she could only explain vaguely that she was currently using Yue Zhuo's identity.
She had thought Yue Zhuo would be displeased, but to her surprise, her first reaction was delight.
"It's really true! Don't give it back, please don't ever give the identity of 'Yue Zhuo' back to me!" the primordial spirit said with great excitement.
In fact, Yue Zhuo had hated the name "Yue Zhuo" for a long time. She had long wanted to change it to something that better reflected her personality, like Blazing Flame or Burning Light, which also matched her elemental affinity.
Yue Du helped her reconstruct a physical body, with the raw materials lovingly sponsored by Yun Yijiu. The final result was quite good; at the very least, Yue Zhuo herself was very satisfied.
On the day the final deadline arrived, it was Yun Yijiu who first faced the lightning tribulation.
Bright purple lightning tore through the sky like sharp swords.
"I will wait for you," Yun Yijiu said.
Yue Du didn't know if she had sensed something.
"Yes, I will find you."
Yun Yijiu's tribulation only looked immense; when the lightning actually struck, it had very little power, as if it couldn't wait for her to leave.
Yue Du thought about the woman's freewheeling divination skills and couldn't help but seriously consider again whether Ah Jiu was a favorite of the Heavenly Dao.
The very instant Yun Yijiu passed her tribulation and ascended as a Sword Immortal, the long-absent mechanical voice of the Main System echoed faintly.
"Ding! Mission 'Assist the Host in Ascending' complete. Point reward: 10,000. The host's points have been merged with the system's reward, calculated at 15,000 points. Grand total: 25,000 points."
"Host detected to have left the Qianhong small world. System teleportation initiating."
Get instant access to all the chapters now.
Comments
Post a Comment