Chapter 45: Temple Master, Stop Being Human, You Aren’t Willing…
“Kill me… or, I kill you.”
A desperate, thoroughly insane killing intent appeared simultaneously with Song Yilou’s smiling face.
It seems I really pushed this guy to the edge, Yun Wuxiang thought. His hands didn’t slow down in the slightest as he threw a talisman onto Song Yilou’s forehead. “Freeze.”
Song Yilou’s movement paused. Then, he took the talisman off his forehead, opened his mouth, and swallowed the talisman whole.
Yun Wuxiang watched, his eyelid twitching. Had this absurd Song Yilou creature mutated again?
Soon, he had no time to be distracted by other thoughts. Song Yilou’s offensive was crazier than ever before. Unlike previous times when his moves were mainly to trap him, this time the other party genuinely intended to kill; his movements held nothing back.
Initially, Yun Wuxiang calmly countered with various spells. But Song Yilou seemed able to predict his movements, repeatedly interrupting his actions before his spells could be completed. Currently, the only spells he could successfully cast were instant attack incantations; any other spell with even a slight casting time would be interrupted midway by Song Yilou’s mad-dog-like offense.
After reaching this conclusion, Yun Wuxiang decisively abandoned using spells. All tactics faded away in the rapid rhythm of the battle; combat instincts gradually took control of his body.
The blood in Yun Wuxiang’s entire body began to flow rapidly. In the depths of his usually calm eyes, a flame symbolizing battle intent spawned and grew continuously.
The ghost blade formed of Yin energy and the long blade formed of baleful energy rubbed and crossed.
The sword edge grazed Song Yilou’s chest, obliterating Yin energy; the blade edge sliced past Yun Wuxiang’s neck, scraping out a red mark.
The tension of brushing past the edge of danger was like firewood soaked in oil thrown into the fire of battle intentâinstantly, wild flames boiled over.
Rocks shattered, thunder and fire roared, blades clashed.
Two figures, visible only as afterimages.
Boom!
After the final exchange of attacks, the blade in Yun Wuxiang’s hand pierced through Song Yilou’s chest, nailing him to the rock wall. Centered on where the blade tip penetrated the stone, a rune unfolded and took shape. Several chains extended from the rune, tightly locking Song Yilou’s body.
“Why did you pull back your blade?” Yun Wuxiang’s crimson eyes looked at the Ghost Gu nailed under his hand. The killing intent in his pupils remained, but there was no joy of victory; instead, it was dyed with anger.
Distracted by constructing the rune during combat, his final strike just now had been a split second slow.
He had been prepared to be heavily injured, trading injury for injury. But Song Yilou withdrew his blade at the very last moment.
This action annoyed Yun Wuxiang even more than when Song Yilou had licked his ankle.
Song Yilou’s next sentence added fuel to the fire: “I can’t let the Temple Master die before me.”
Yun Wuxiang laughed in anger, a sneer chilling to the bone. “Song Yilou, who gave you the confidence that I would definitely die first?”
“You did, Temple Master.”
Song Yilou’s chest was pierced by the longsword, and his limbs were sealed by chains. As soon as he moved, he was pulled back. Yet his head still strained forward, the five small moles on his face enlarging as he leaned closer, occupying the center of vision along with those horrifying ghost pupils.
“Hasn’t the Temple Master noticed? You are always subconsciously protecting this body.”
“In a life-and-death battle, the more one fears death, the easier it is to die.”
Song Yilou pulled the corners of his mouth, staring into Yun Wuxiang’s eyes. “Yun Xinyang, this human, is truly annoying. He died, yet his body and consciousness have always been binding you, influencing you. Heh, truly intimate.”
The heavy jealousy and unwillingness were too obvious for Yun Wuxiang to ignore.
Song Yilou was jealous of Yun Xinyangâjealous of a dead man so painful he didn’t want to wake up.
“The Temple Master asked me why I pulled back my blade. I also want to ask you: why use only baleful energy?” With every sentence Song Yilou spoke, the darkness in his eyes grew more intense. The gloom darkened into ink, and finally, the dark expression on Song Yilou’s face faded away.
He smiled with pure innocence, like a child making a wish.
“I’m about to die anyway. Temple Master, let me see what the real you looks like.”
In the distance, majestic demonic energy erupted.
[Host, the seal on the island suppressing the Heavenly Demon’s remains is broken!]
[I see it.]
Yun Wuxiang looked at the surging demonic energy and the birds and beasts fleeing in panic. Realizing he would soon have a new mess to clean up, his state of mind was surprisingly calm.
It wasn’t strange for Song Yilou to cause trouble. But if he had simply come to throw his life away, and held back because of so-called affection, it would have made Yun Wuxiang feel like a fishbone was stuck in his throatâan incomprehensible disgust.
As if possessing some consciousness, the demonic energy spread into the sky and rushed toward Yun Wuxiang.
[Host, dodge quickly!] 3339 cried out.
Facing the black tsunami of demonic energy crashing down, Yun Wuxiang didn’t dodge, nor did he put up any defense. He did two things at the last moment. First, he constructed a barrier to protect the animals on the island.
Second, he activated the rune behind Song Yilou: “Strangle.”
The chains on the rune erupted with destructive killing intent. A look of physiological pain finally surfaced on Song Yilou’s face, along with a maniacal laugh of shock.
The demonic energy was like a black fog impenetrable to light. Even at close range, Yun Wuxiang couldn’t see Song Yilou’s figure. He could only hear the other’s prayer-like last words: “Temple Master, stop being human. You aren’t willing to become a Gu, but becoming a Demon is acceptable too.”
Bugger off.
Yun Wuxiang cursed silently in his heart, then paid him no more mind.
His soul and his instincts as a Heart Demon craved to absorb this pure Heavenly Demon energy; his body rejected this violent power.
He quickly flipped through several demonic cultivation manuals in his mind, altering the path of his meridians to absorb the demonic energy.
Failure.
The demonic energy emitted by the Heavenly Demon’s corpse was too pure. Absorbing just a sliver damaged most of the meridians in Yun Wuxiang’s body.
So how did Song Yilou absorb the demonic energy directly without exploding and dying back then? And he didn’t know if the rune just now had killed him completely. As these thoughts flashed through Yun Wuxiang’s mind, just as he was about to try another method to isolate the demonic energy, a green light appeared, wrapping him up like a bubble.
A deep, profound female voice entered his ears. Within the steady, majestic voice was a hint of strangeness: [You… changed my Qingdi Record?]
Yun Wuxiang was silent for a moment. He originally didn’t know who this voice belonged to, but the phrase “my Qingdi Record” was equivalent to declaring her identity.
“Grandmaster?”
Qingdi Temple, Qingdi Recordâhe had learned this technique, so calling her Grandmaster was reasonable.
The voice accepted the title of Grandmaster by default: [Where are the others in the temple? Why is there only you, a Mystic Immortal, guarding the seal?]
Yun Wuxiang: “Master never mentioned them.”
[Where is your Master?]
Yun Wuxiang: “Dead. There’s a grave with no inscription on the island; he’s in it.”
[…]
The other party seemed silenced by this sentence. Yun Wuxiang waited for a good while but didn’t hear her speak again.
Although a master wasn’t of much use given Yun Wuxiang’s self-taught level, he truly did have a nominal masterâthe “Otherworldly Expert” from the original novel.
That guy was also an eccentric. After discovering Yun Wuxiang could teach himself, he happily committed suicide, saying he was going to follow his love to find his Dao Companion who had died early.
Before committing suicide, he made a bamboo raft, plucked all the flowers on the island to pile on it, and with a wreath on his head, killed himself in a very “spiritual” manner. Before dying, he instructed Yun Wuxiang to give him a sea burialâsailing into the vast ocean on a flower boat under the glow of the sunsetâonly that would count as elegant.
Although Yun Wuxiang felt that his corpse going into the sea would just be fish food and had little to do with elegance, he did it anyway.
Then, that guy’s corpse drifted back on its own, face gnawed beyond recognition by fish, directly sending Yun Wuxiangâwho was in a chaotic and messy state at the timeâinto a semi-fake, semi-real stress mode.
Then came 3339. In fact, if it had come a little later, Yun Wuxiang might have broken through the Heart Demon Tribulation and come out directly.
[Never mind. There is no sect that lasts forever… But as long as one person remains in my Qingdi Temple, it can return to its peak. The task of reviving the sect is entrusted to you.]
Yun Wuxiang couldn’t help interrupting her: “Grandmaster, wait a moment.”
Why did he suddenly have to revitalize the sect? Didn’t the beginning of your sentence contradict the end?
[This Venerable One sees in you the hope of the sect returning to the peak and ruling the Immortal Realm. The seal is broken, and I am about to drag that dead phoenix to heaven with me. This is my last dying wish! I won’t rest in peace if it’s not fulfilled!]
“I am just a Mystic Immortal.” Yun Wuxiang tried to make this Grandmaster face reality. How could a sect with only one Mystic Immortal rule the Immortal Realm?
Don’t assign tasks to him so casually.
[What’s wrong with being a Mystic Immortal? Who didn’t start from Mystic Immortal? You must believe in your own talent. Don’t be too humble; be proud when you should be. Chest out, head up, and look at people through your nostrils for me! do you think just anyone can modify This Venerable One’s technique?]
Yun Wuxiang: “…”
Thank you for acknowledging my talent, but I really don’t want to look at people through my nostrils.
[The plaque of the Qingdi Temple is the key to This Venerable One’s tomb. Use the Azure Qi cultivated from the Qingdi Record to refine the plaque. You can use anything in This Venerable One’s tomb as you please. Pass down the ancestral teachings for me: my sect must be the leader of the Immortal Sects! If you can’t finish it, let the next generation continue.]
Yun Wuxiang tried to voice an opinion: “Grandmaster…”
[By the way, have you decided on your Daoist title?]
Yun Wuxiang: “No…”
[Change it if you have one. Your master died so early, presumably his cultivation wasn’t high either. Saying it out loud carries no prestige. In the future, introduce yourself using This Venerable One’s name. From now on, you are the closed-door disciple of Tianqing Daozun. Your Daoist title is Duzun (Sole Reverence).]
“…”
Yun Wuxiang asked seriously: “Do you think this title sounds good?”
[Why, do you have an objection?]
Yun Wuxiang had more than an objection; he despised it to death. “I can’t bring myself to say this title.”
[No taste. This name is so domineering. Forget it, what is your name?]
“Yun Wuxiang.”
[Then follow my title. Tianyun (Sky Cloud) or Qingyun (Azure Cloud). These two titles are too mediocre though. If you shout ‘Qingyun’ in the Immortal Realm, four or five cultivators will turn their heads.]
[Duba (Sole Tyrant), Aotian (Proud Heaven), Junlin (King’s Arrival), Tianyi (Heaven’s First). How about these?]
Dominating the world, looking down on heroes, ruling over the land, number one under heaven… This Grandmaster’s naming style was already very clear.
If he had to choose one of these…
Yun Wuxiang: “I don’t particularly need a Daoist title.”
He chose to give up.
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