Long Aotian’s Beautiful Butler Has Run Away chapter 166

Chapter 166 After Fenshen

Upon hearing Shen Bingsi mention Xiao Zhi, Rong Xie’s heart initially tightened, then relaxed.

His guess was far too bizarre, yet upon careful thought, it made a lot of sense, leaving Rong Xie at a loss for words.

“Alright, you don’t need to tell me,” Shen Bingsi raised a hand, signaling that Rong Xie didn’t need to explain. “Bai Zhanglao must have made some sort of secrecy oath with you, so you can’t speak of it. I understand. However, we can discard this terrible idea of Bai Zhanglao‘s.”

As they spoke, the Yunmeng Bianzhou touched down, and Rong Xie supported Shen Bingsi as they disembarked.

“Rong Shidi!” The guide parted the Dao Gong disciples and approached Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi, leading them into the center of the crowd—where Bai Zhanglao was located.

Two medical cultivators were buzzing around Bai Zhanglao. One placed a healing orb of light on his body, while the other with a grand stroke of a brush wrote out a medical prescription, transformed the prescription into a paper crane, cast a spell, and the paper crane flapped its wings and flew into the air, presumably heading to the pharmacy to fetch medicine.

Under the medical cultivators’ strenuous efforts, Bai Zhanglao slowly awoke. However, the injuries to his chest were too severe; he remained in a dying state, unable to speak normally.

“Rong Shidi, you’re just in time. Who exactly injured the Zhanglao like this? Did you see?” the guide asked.

“It was a Hehuan Huayao,” Rong Xie thought for a moment, concealing the part about Xiao Zhi, and simply said it was a flower demon that had suddenly appeared in the Dao Gong. He then described its appearance to the crowd. “It is very powerful and releases a fragrance that smells like roses. Anyone who smells the fragrance will be controlled by it.”

“Indeed, I saw it too,” Shen Bingsi corroborated Rong Xie’s statement.

“A Hehuan Huayao?” “What kind of monster is that?” “We are in the heartland of the sect, how could a monster break in??”

The Dao Gong disciples began to discuss in panic. They couldn’t help but be terrified; a monster hadn’t appeared in the heartland of Xuantian Zong for hundreds of years. The last time a monster had shown up was during the War of Gods and Demons.

This was by no means a good omen.

Amidst the chaos, the medical cultivator treating Bai Zhanglao looked up and said, “Bai Zhanglao seems to have something to say.”

As soon as these words fell, the Dao Gong disciples quieted down.

The guide knelt beside Bai Zhanglao, leaning his ear close to Bai Zhanglao‘s lips. As he listened, he relayed Bai Zhanglao‘s meaning to the crowd:

“Bai Zhanglao says that what injured him was indeed a Hehuan Huayao. The monster is exceptionally cunning. Go quickly and report to the Zongzhu. Everyone else, immediately go search for the monster’s whereabouts. Rong Shidi, you and Shen Jiansheng stay behind for a moment.”

“Yes!” The crowd received their orders and departed. For a time, only the two medical cultivators, the guide, and Rong and Shen remained within the Dao Gong.

“Rong Shidi, I entrust Bai Zhanglao to you for now. He wants to speak with you alone,” the guide said, rising and taking the two medical cultivators away.

Rong Xie leaned close to Bai Zhanglao.

Sponsored

Bai Zhanglao said weakly, “Yingqi…”

Rong Xie felt confused. He was Rong Xie, had Bai Zhanglao mistaken him for someone else?

“Yingqi has successfully proven his Dao… Now, he is already a mighty figure of the Fenshen stage! Never, never again can anyone… expel him…”

With that, Bai Zhanglao revealed a gratified smile.

Rong Xie: “…”

Bai Zhanglao, at a time like this, you’re still bragging about your prized disciple!

“Rong Xie, tell me…” Bai Zhanglao paused, “he should be able to understand me, right?”

Rong Xie frowned. He had stretched his neck to listen for ages, couldn’t Bai Zhanglao say something useful? “Probably… yes.”

“That’s good,” Bai Zhanglao let out a long sigh. “That’s good.”

“No, Bai Zhanglao, the most urgent task right now is to go after Xiao Zhi,” Rong Xie lowered his voice as he spoke. Shen Bingsi clearly still heard it; he shifted his weight to his other leg, and his gaze imperceptibly swept over towards them, but Rong Xie couldn’t care less. “Xiao Zhi is still here, I saw him. It’s just that he left the Suoling Fazhen, and his spirit body is dissipating at every moment. We must find him quickly!”

“It’s too late…” Bai Zhanglao sighed towards the sky. “That flower demon is extremely formidable. Unless Yingqi is here…”

“I’ll go find Lu Yingqi!” Rong Xie straightened up.

“No!” Bai Zhanglao, drawing strength from who knows where, grabbed Rong Xie’s arm, pulling his wounds and causing him to pant violently again. “You can’t… you can’t let Yingqi know…”

As he spoke, a streak of white light shot from afar, striking directly into the open area in front of the Dao Gong.

The shockwave caused by the spiritual energy jolted everyone present.

Speak of the devil, Lu Yingqi walked out from the white light, arriving before Bai Zhanglao and Rong Xie.

His gaze was even more indifferent than before, resembling a divine statue upon an altar.

His apathetic gaze swept over Rong Xie and Bai Zhanglao: “Master.”

Overjoyed, Bai Zhanglao tried to sit up, but alas, several of his ribs were broken; he couldn’t get up at all. This exertion caused him to fall back down, drawing sharp breaths of cold air in pain.

Seeing Bai Zhanglao‘s poor condition, Rong Xie hurriedly stood up: “Bai Zhanglao was attacked by the flower demon. The medical cultivators just helped treat him, but his injuries are too severe—”

Sponsored

Yet Lu Yingqi stood rooted to the spot, completely motionless, showing no intention whatsoever of checking on Bai Zhanglao‘s injuries.

“Since the medical cultivators are treating him, I won’t interfere,” Lu Yingqi said flatly. “Where is Xiao Zhi?”

Rong Xie was startled.

“I heard you talking,” Lu Yingqi said. “What flower demon? What does it look like?”

Rong Xie felt an indescribable sensation in his heart. Lu Yingqi knew Xiao Zhi wasn’t dead, yet he revealed neither joy nor excitement, acting as if he had learned of something completely unrelated to him.

Was this what cultivating the Wuqing Dao to the end resulted in? It made sense—commanding the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth naturally meant having no personal affections. But… was this still human? What difference was there between this and a rock?

Rong Xie described the flower demon’s appearance. Lu Yingqi nodded, turned around, and was about to leave.

“Yingqi!” Recovering a bit of strength, Bai Zhanglao struggled and called out, “You cannot go! You cannot involve yourself in someone else’s karma again!”

“…” Lu Yingqi’s footsteps slightly halted, but he did not turn back. “This is not someone else’s karma; it is my own. My karma, I will end myself.”

With that, white light struck into the air like lightning, and the surrounding space distorted, turning straight beams of light into arcs of light—the unique mode of travel for the Fenshen stage, Suo Di Cheng Cun! He could reach his destination in an instant.

Rong Xie breathed a sigh of relief. Since Lu Yingqi went, he would probably save Xiao Zhi and bring him back.

“I must say,” Shen Bingsi, who had been watching from the sidelines, walked over to Rong Xie hugging his sword, his eyes still fixed on the direction Lu Yingqi left. “Old Man Bai’s Dao-proving formation is indeed quite impressive. Lu Yingqi must be at the late Fenshen stage now, right?”

“Late Fenshen?” Rong Xie had assumed it was mid-Fenshen. It seemed his estimation had still been too conservative.

“Heh… hehe, exactly the late Fenshen stage!” Bai Zhanglao, with newfound strength from nowhere, was able to interject again. “Looking across the entire cultivation world, the mighty figures of the Heti and Zhengdao stages exist only in legends. Today, the one closest to those legends is Yingqi!”

“…”

Looking at Bai Zhanglao radiating with energy the moment Lu Yingqi was mentioned, and then recalling Lu Yingqi’s cold demeanor just now, Rong Xie felt a mix of complex emotions at the contrast.

Lu Yingqi would only become increasingly devoid of emotion. Ignoring Bai Zhanglao‘s severe injuries was just the beginning. As Bai Zhanglao himself said, he could no longer intervene in the karma of others…

Yet Bai Zhanglao was still ecstatic over this, proving that Bai Zhanglao genuinely loved taking on disciples.

“What’s so impressive about that? He’s just going to end up a complete loner,” Shen Bingsi said dismissively.

“Hm? What’s wrong with being a loner? We who cultivate the Wuqing Dao, aren’t we aiming to become loners?” Bai Zhanglao was surprised. “Shen Bingsi, haven’t you always been arrogant and dismissive of everyone? Now you’re actually looking down on someone else for being a loner? I think you’re just jealous!”

Sponsored

Shen Bingsi had always possessed a sharp tongue. In such a situation, he would normally refute the other party until they were speechless, not to mention his opponent was a severely injured, panting old man.

However, he just smiled and didn’t bother to argue.

Looking at Shen Bingsi, Rong Xie felt that after his Dao Heart shattered, certain aspects of his temperament seemed to have changed as well, becoming… more endearing.

“Bai Zhanglao, you promised me before that once this succeeded, you would tell me Hong Zhanglao‘s location so I could find him smoothly. Can you tell me now?” Rong Xie asked.

Shen Bingsi also perked up his ears and leaned in closer.

“Cough, cough… You want to know right now? Wait until I recover…”

“By the time you recover, the grass on my grave will be three feet high.” Shen Bingsi leaned down, closing in on Bai Zhanglao. “Speak quickly!”

“…”

Fortunately, the Dao Gong cultivators had all been dismissed by Bai Zhanglao, and the guide trusted Rong Xie completely. Otherwise, they would have witnessed the scene of Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi teaming up to interrogate an injured old man—was this a loss of morality or a collapse of ethics?

Bai Zhanglao intermittently revealed Hong Zhanglao‘s location. Even though they hadn’t been in contact for so many years, based on Bai Zhanglao‘s understanding of Hong Zhanglao, the Hehuan Jiao shouldn’t have changed much from fifty years ago.

Back when Hong Zhanglao left to take charge of the Hehuan Jiao, he had once invited Bai Zhanglao to go with him. Bai Zhanglao secretly visited the Hehuan Jiao, but ultimately refused Hong Zhanglao with high-sounding reasons. From then on, the two parted ways. Hong Zhanglao also viewed Bai Zhanglao as a traitor and the Wuqing Dao Gong as a den of hypocrites, refusing to associate with anyone from the Wuqing Dao Gong.

“From the sounds of it, Hong Zhanglao is actually quite reasonable,” Shen Bingsi evaluated.

“Hmph, young and ignorant. What is good, what is hypocritical, they are all just excuses people find for themselves,” Bai Zhanglao sneered. “I’ve told you everything I know. If you abandon the righteous path and insist on walking the evil path, that is your own choice.”

“Thank you for the guidance, Bai Zhanglao. We’ll be taking our leave then.” Shen Bingsi pulled Rong Xie, and the two stood up.

“Hey, wait a minute—” Bai Zhanglao hadn’t expected them to leave so decisively. “You’re just leaving like this? You haven’t even attended Yingqi’s Dao-proving celebration banquet!”

Shen Bingsi fled even faster.

When the two reached the main gate, Rong Xie told the guide they were leaving. Although the guide was surprised, he didn’t ask further and took the medical cultivators back to Bai Zhanglao‘s side.

The two walked out of the Dao Gong. Before they had taken even two steps, they saw a white arc of light shoot over from the distance, the surrounding space distorting. It was Lu Yingqi returning.

Rong Xie’s heart tightened. Fixing his gaze on the distorted space, he saw Lu Yingqi return entirely alone; he did not see Xiao Zhi’s soul.

“Where is Xiao Zhi?” Rong Xie hurriedly asked.

Sponsored

Lu Yingqi’s apathetic gaze finally showed some slight fluctuation. He looked up at Rong Xie, his eyes seemingly carrying an incomprehensible bewilderment.

He raised his hand and grabbed at the empty air. Rong Xie involuntarily flew towards him: “Come with me.”

“What are you doing?” Rong Xie struggled.

“Rong’er!” Shen Bingsi lunged from behind.

He didn’t explain. He simply brought Rong Xie into the distorted space, bringing along Shen Bingsi, who was clinging tightly to Rong Xie’s arm.

The surrounding environment dissolved into phantoms. The next moment, Rong Xie arrived at the edge of a cliff fraught with jagged rocks. A bright moon hung high above, clearly illuminating the situation at the cliff top.

Xiao Zhi’s spirit body stood at the edge of the cliff, facing sideways, his gaze lowered. Aside from his semi-transparent body, he looked no different than when he was alive.

Behind him, hovering over the void beyond the cliff, was a massive flower head emitting an eerie red light. The petals opened and closed rhythmically, as if a living entity were breathing.

Upon closer inspection, countless red threads connected Xiao Zhi to the Hehuan Huayao behind him. Red light continuously flowed from the Hehuan flower disc into Xiao Zhi, as if sustaining his spirit body from dissipating.