Chapter 235: Returning Together (Part V)
In the beginning, the human race embarked on the path of cultivation to slay demons and eradicate devils.
But nothing in the universe remains eternal and unchanging, especially the human heart.
As time passed and the world changed, even the act of cultivation shifted from passive resistance to active plundering. The ultimate goal transformed from slaying demons to achieving immortality and validating one’s Dao.
Everyone possessed different innate talents. In this realm, some excelled in talismans and arrays, some in alchemy, some in the five elemental arts, some in weaponry, and still others in divination.
Among the currently most prominent Four Great Immortal Sects, the Xiao family leaned heavily toward the five elemental arts and weaponry. Overall, in terms of combat prowess, they stood at the pinnacle of the four sects.
Meanwhile, Tianque Palace was the very progenitor of the divination path.
The Palace Master of Tianque Palace possessed divination skills that bordered on the divine. Legend had it that when he roamed the world in the past, a single glance was enough for him to see through a person’s past and present lives.
Not only could he divine fate, but he could also alter it.
A hundred years ago, after accidentally peering too deeply into heavenly secrets, he finally went into seclusion to avoid accumulating further karmic debt.
Thus, the moment Zhong Yinnian spoke those words, all the disciples of the Xiao family fell into stunned silence.
Xiao Ji’s previous doubts also largely dissipated.
If Zhong Yinnian was truly a member of the Zhong family, then his ability to divine his romantic destiny was no longer surprising.
At this point, System 037, who knew the truth of the matter, couldn’t hold back a massive eyeroll, nearly rolling its eyes so hard it gave itself a headache.
A month ago.
Yinnian had run into a problem right after leaving the Demon Realm.
Telling him to storm Qingyang Mountain, tie Xiao Ji up, and haul him back to his lair was easy. But asking him to actually pursue someone left him completely clueless.
037 had some experience in such matters and offered a small suggestion.
[Why don’t you find yourself a reasonable identity? Those cultivators love organizing various exchange and learning events. They happen every year, and this year’s is coming up soon.]
Each sect would select a few presentable disciples and send them to other sects to learn their specialties.
[Back then, Immortal Lord Changming did the same thing. He thought of a way and stole someone else’s identity.]
Yinnian heard this and hesitated for a moment.
[And the result? Was it smooth?]
037 could no longer recall the details, but the result was indisputable.
[Smooth.]
Thus, Yinnian decided to adopt a similar approach.
037 filtered through a list of mid-to-high-tier immortal sects for Yinnian to choose from.
But Yinnian turned his nose up at them all, feeling they were unworthy of him. If he joined them, he would have to restrict his power and act with his hands tied.
So 037 presented the remaining three Great Immortal Sects.
The sect specializing in talismans and arrays was led by the surname Situ. Yinnian found four-character names too cumbersome and disliked it.
The sect specializing in alchemy had no major flaws, but Yinnian knew absolutely nothing about pill refinement and had no desire to learn.
That left the Zhong family, which specialized in divination. They were deeply mysterious and rarely walked the mortal realm. Furthermore, those who could divine the heavens were the best at adapting to circumstances—they knew which struggles were futile and which would lead to disastrous consequences if fought.
Consequently, Yinnian went straight to Tianque Palace.
He cornered the elderly Palace Master in his own bedchamber, commanding him to arrange an identity as a member of the Zhong family for him. If he refused, Yinnian threatened to defy the heavens and rewrite the fates of everyone in the Zhong family to suffer premature, unnatural deaths.
Facts proved that the Palace Master of Tianque Palace was indeed someone who understood the times and could read the heavens.
Almost anticipating Yinnian’s move, he agreed without a second of hesitation.
He only made one condition: if conflict ever erupted again in the future, Yinnian was not to implicate Tianque Palace.
It was only because of this that Yinnian could stand before Xiao Ji so brazenly and confidently declare the words: “Tianque Palace’s Zhong Family, Zhong Yinnian.”
After finishing his declaration, he raised an eyebrow at Xiao Ji, his eyes lingering on Xiao Ji’s cascading, ink-black hair:
“Why would the Xiao family have a Buddhist cultivator? If you are a Buddhist cultivator, why haven’t you shaved your head?”
The number of Buddhist cultivators in this realm was exceedingly small. Compared to spiritual roots or immortal bones, Buddhism placed far more emphasis on destiny and affinity. The phrase ‘cleared of desires and purged of passions’ was easy to say, but it wasn’t something ordinary mortals could achieve simply by willing it.
Someone like Xiao Ji—who could comprehend the Dharma on his own at a young age, chanting sutras and praying to deliver others’ souls—was rarer still.
Xiao Ji possessed a profound affinity with Buddhism.
But conversely, affinity cannot be forced. Xiao Ji had never formally entered a Buddhist temple. Whether it was the fact that he grew up just like this on Qingyang Mountain, the broken prayer beads, or the sudden romantic destiny placed before him—these were all part of his affinity.
He simply needed to let nature take its course.
However, there was no need to explain any of this to the newly acquainted youth in front of him. He merely replied flatly:
“It has nothing to do with you.”
Yinnian curled his lip and didn’t press the issue.
The pressing problem at hand was how to deliver Xiao Ji to this “new bride.”
Sensing Xiao Ji’s unspoken question, Yinnian turned around, walking back toward the pile of straw in the corner while letting out a yawn:
“That is your destiny. When you sense it yourself, the time will have come.”
In their youth, people possess boundless vigor, and restlessness is the norm.
But Xiao Ji couldn’t shake the feeling that despite Zhong Yinnian’s apparent young age and seemingly flippant remarks, his words carried a profound clarity that didn’t match his years.
It was very strange.
Xiao Ji sat cross-legged in the corner as well. His hands felt an urge to roll beads that were no longer there—a rare display of inner turbulence.
Given the current situation, Xiao Ji seemed to have become the sole hope for everyone’s safe departure. Seeing him enter a state of meditation, the surrounding people consciously quieted down. Aside from the sound of breathing, no one made the slightest noise.
At first, Xiao Ji’s mind wandered continuously. He couldn’t grasp whether this sudden romantic destiny was a blessing or a curse, nor could he figure out who this so-called “new bride” really was.
He hadn’t personally heard Xiao Ran’s description of the Fu’an Village wedding banquet, but he could intuitively sense that this so-called romantic tie was absolutely far from simple.
At the very least, it definitely wouldn’t be that woman who hung herself.
Then who could it be? What kind of entity would trap them all here, solely to wait for him, Xiao Ji, to arrive?
The “sense” and “time” Zhong Yinnian spoke of were nowhere to be found.
Xiao Ji stopped trying to figure it out and allowed his mind to slowly empty.
Then, an image of Zhong Yinnian’s face flashed through his mind.
In the very next second, as he snapped his eyes open, he found himself sitting in front of a bronze mirror.
It was a massive room. The bronze mirror sat atop an intricately carved vanity table made of golden thread nanmu wood.
He looked around. Neither the layout of the room nor the placement of the items were things an ordinary villager of Fu’an Village could possibly afford.
Looking back at his own reflection in the bronze mirror, he saw that although he wore no makeup, he was dressed in a resplendent phoenix coronet and a crimson bridal cape. He looked exceedingly regal and magnificent—a level of flamboyant opulence that surpassed even the wedding ceremonies of the Four Great Immortal Sects’ Patriarchs.
At that moment, two young maidservants were standing beside him, placing something onto his heavy phoenix coronet.
Xiao Ji looked up and glanced at the two girls. Their faces were deathly pale, the corners of their mouths stretched wide in stiff, unnatural smiles.
Judging from their complexions, they had clearly been dead for who knew how long.
Translator’s Note:
- Tianque Palace (天闕宮): Literally “Heavenly Watchtower Palace,” fitting for a sect that reads the heavens.
- Karmic Debt / Karma (因果): In cultivation, peering into the heavens or altering fate incurs negative karma, which can lead to heavenly punishment or hinder one’s path to immortality.
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