The originally heavy and dilapidated body began to become light. The repaired meridians were twice as wide as before, allowing spiritual power to flow through them smoothly and unobstructed. The golden core, which was now more than one lap larger than before, continuously absorbed spiritual power and dispersed it to the surrounding sea of consciousness.
When he had crossed the tribulation, he had suppressed his cultivation in the void by one major realm. Now his cultivation was maintained exactly at the early stage of the golden core – starting cultivation from the beginning. Although it was forced, not everyone could have this opportunity to start anew.
After all, the more solid the foundation laid at the beginning, the smoother the advancement would be later. Even with the guidance of teachers, everyone’s situation was different. Most people still had to fumble their way through Qi refinement, foundation building, and forming the golden core. They couldn’t avoid making many mistakes and falling into many pitfalls. Some mistakes were irreversible. It was unknown how many great masters failed in their advancement due to small flaws left from their previous foundation building and golden core formation, spending countless time, resources, and energy to compensate.
Now that he was starting over, he naturally wanted to build his foundation as steadily as possible, avoiding those pitfalls. Not to mention the great opportunity he had seized in the void – both the pure spiritual power of the void and the insights gained from observing two Hinayana realm masters battling were rare encounters.
As the saying goes, fortune and misfortune lean on each other, gains and losses are balanced. His previous condition of broken meridians and lost cultivation wasn’t entirely a bad thing. Although both were at the early stage of the golden core, his current early golden core stage was completely different from when he was sixteen years old at the same stage.
Ning Buwei opened his eyes, feeling refreshed and clear-headed. He saw that the ubiquitous person from the heart demon realm was now standing in front of him, holding his son.
Ning Buwei’s face remained expressionless.
“Can you stand up?” Chu Jun looked down at him.
Ning Buwei: “……”
It would be a miracle if one could stand up after being struck by forty-eight tribulation lightning bolts continuously for several hours.
Chu Jun extended a hand towards him.
Perhaps because he had just come out of the heart demon realm, Ning Buwei still clearly remembered how this person had ruthlessly forced him to copy books and practice swordsmanship, and how he had then tenderly cared for him in the swamp wilderness. Now seeing him skillfully holding Ning Xiu and looking so “friendly”, he felt that the other party had ulterior motives.
Especially when he was cutting down the heart demon earlier, the presence of this hand was extremely strong.
Ning Buwei lifted his eyelids and glanced at him, then grasped that white, slender hand.
Huh, it was merely a heart demon. If he were to be wary of this and that, how could he cultivate the Heartless Dao?
Chu Jun exerted a little force and pulled him up from the ground.
The moment he stood up, Ning Buwei suddenly felt something was amiss. Sure enough, in the next instant, his lightning-scorched clothes began to fall off in pieces. Fortunately, he reacted quickly, hastily pulling out a set of clothes from his storage ring and swiftly changing into them. He even meticulously used a cleaning spell.
“Thank you,” he nodded to Chu Jun politely and distantly, releasing his hand.
Chu Jun’s gaze swept over his newly changed clothes, noticing they were the set he often wore, but he didn’t say anything.
Their builds were similar now, so the clothes fit well.
Ning Buwei looked down at Ning Xiu in his arms.
“He was frightened earlier and had a slight fever. He just fell asleep,” Chu Jun said.
The little one was still frowning in his sleep, like a chubby little bun who had been wronged, his small hand tightly gripping Chu Jun’s sleeve.
“Venerable!” Feng Zizhang’s voice came from afar, “We’ve finished packing!”
Ning Buwei looked towards the sound, only then noticing that the surroundings were no longer the flat ground pressed down by the Taiji Seal. Steep mountains and lofty peaks had risen again above the spiritual veins, with lush forests and clear springs. There was even a courtyard that had appeared out of thin air, nestled against the mountain and overlooking a spring, quite secluded.
“Living in a cave is too damp and not good for the child’s health,” Chu Jun explained when he saw him looking at the courtyard.
Ning Buwei remained noncommittal. After all, the other party was a Hinayana realm cultivator. Since he could level mountains with his bare hands, creating this was normal. As for the courtyard, who didn’t have a few treasure palaces or cave dwellings these days?
He took a moment to recover, allowing spiritual power to circulate through his meridians several times. Finally, he adjusted and went with Chu Jun to the courtyard.
The courtyard appeared to be casually enclosed by a fence, but in reality, it firmly occupied the most robust spiritual vein underground, quite meticulously planned.
Upon seeing Ning Buwei, Feng Zizhang and Jiang Yizheng immediately felt as if they had found a support and breathed a sigh of relief. However, their faces still showed unease, fearing others might not notice their guilty consciences.
“Father, the Peak Master is the Venerable Jinghe of the Wushi Sect,” Feng Zizhang whispered, taking advantage of Chu Jun carrying Ning Xiu into the room. “A Hinayana realm master… we can’t defeat him.”
“Father, how do we escape?” Jiang Yizheng asked nervously, hugging her broad sword.
Ning Buwei was silent for a moment, then said, “We can’t escape. Just wait for death.”
“Father, the Venerable is at least Xiao Shan’s mother—another father,” Feng Zizhang, though unable to understand how two male cultivators could have a child, didn’t let it hinder his tenacious will to survive. “We’re all family, everything can be negotiated.”
Jiang Yizheng nodded repeatedly, “Zizhang is right.”
Ning Buwei let out a cold sneer.
He walked into the inner room, where Chu Jun had just managed to extract his sleeve from Ning Xiu’s grip and covered him with a thicker small blanket.
Ning Buwei approached the bed and checked his son’s small wrist, examining him thoroughly. He found that Ning Xiu’s three souls and seven spirits were even more unstable than before. If it weren’t for the small leaf given by Yan Lanpei and Chu Jun’s spiritual power protection, he might not have lasted a few hours before his soul scattered.
Ning Buwei frowned and raised his hand to draw a talisman, but was stopped.
“His soul is unstable from the root. More soul-stabilizing talismans will only treat the symptoms, not the cause,” Chu Jun looked at him.
Ning Buwei fell silent, squeezing Ning Xiu’s small hand, and asked in a deep voice, “Then what should we do?”
“How exactly did this child come to be?” Chu Jun countered with a question.
Ning Buwei’s gaze towards him took on a hint of wariness.
Indeed, he had had a brief connection with Chu Jun in his youth, but five hundred years had passed, and he couldn’t be certain if the other was trustworthy.
In Ning Buwei’s view, Chu Jun was far more dangerous than an ordinary golden core cultivator who spent years in seclusion—if an ordinary golden core cultivator dared to touch his son, he could easily crush them. But with Chu Jun, he wasn’t confident.
“I’ve already told you,” Ning Buwei tucked Ning Xiu’s small hand back under the blanket.
“Tell the truth,” Chu Jun frowned.
Ning Buwei looked at him with a half-smile, his tone mocking, “An ordinary golden core cultivator, Chu Shan?”
Chu Jun stared at him, his tone softening slightly. “Ning Chengfeng.”
Ning Buwei’s back stiffened, his gaze falling on his son’s little yellow duck cotton blanket, his expression tense, but he didn’t respond.
What did Ning Chengfeng have to do with him, Ning Buwei?
“Regardless of how Ning Xiu came to be, he carries the blood of both of us, he is our closest flesh and blood,” Chu Jun said calmly. “I am his father, just like you.”
Ning Buwei remained silent for a long while before finally speaking. “Have you ever heard of the Linglong bone?”
“Linglong bone?” Chu Jun felt this name was somewhat familiar, and searched through fragments of memories from many years ago. “The bone that Ning Xingyuan brought out from the Floating Void Realm?”
Ning Buwei was stunned, “You know about it?”
Most people thought the Linglong bone was a treasure of the Chongzheng Alliance, but no one knew its exact origin. Even Ning Buwei had always thought this broken bone was something belonging to the Chongzheng Alliance, until he soul-searched Du Lu and learned about the connection between the Linglong bone and Ning Xingyuan.
“Mm.” Chu Jun lowered his gaze to look at the longevity lock on his son’s wrist.
Years ago, when he passed by the Floating Void Realm, he had his eye on a piece of pure silver inlaid in the main gate. He tried hard to pry it off, using many methods without success. By chance, Ning Xingyuan passed by and voluntarily lent a hand, helping him remove that piece of silver.
He hadn’t originally planned to enter the Floating Void Realm, but to thank Ning Xingyuan for his help, he teamed up with him to enter.
Two cultivators at the Fusion stage, close to Hinayana, prying silver off the gaudy gate of the Floating Void Realm, and struggling quite a bit at that – it was somewhat embarrassing to say out loud, especially to Ning Buwei.
So Chu Jun lightly coughed and said seriously, “We met by chance and entered together as a team.”
Ning Buwei didn’t detect any unease in his tone at all. His brows furrowed tightly, “Then do you know the origin of the Linglong bone?”
“I don’t.” Seeing his grave expression, Chu Jun guessed, “Could it be that the child is related to the Linglong bone?”
“Ning Xiu was the transformed Linglong bone, borrowing the flesh and soul essence of you and me to be born, forming his own three souls and seven spirits,” Ning Buwei said in a deep voice. “Although born with a golden core, he was born against the will of heaven—”
“His soul is easily scattered, and his fate’s tribulations are hard to cross.” Chu Jun lowered his gaze to look at the scattered pebbles on the table, completing Ning Buwei’s sentence.
Judging by fate alone, being born against heaven’s will meant early death, easy perishing, and a life full of tribulations – he was an extremely difficult child to raise.
Ning Buwei’s heart slowly sank.
Yan Lanpei and Du Lu had said the same thing. He didn’t quite believe it at first, but as Ning Xiu frequently encountered troubles, he had no choice but to believe. His previous rush to find the Suzaku fragments and restore his cultivation was not unrelated to his desire to quickly find a way to stabilize his son’s soul.
“Since he could be born against heaven’s will, there must be a glimmer of hope for survival,” Chu Jun gathered the pebbles on the table into his sleeve, speaking unhurriedly. “The path of immortal cultivation is itself against heaven’s will. What everyone ultimately seeks and strives for is just a glimmer of hope for survival.”
Ning Buwei looked at him, seeming to feel something.
“Ning Xiu’s glimmer of hope is just a bit less than others,” Chu Jun said gently. “Since this is the case, what’s wrong with us fathers helping him fight for it?”
Ning Buwei’s previously frustrated mood instantly calmed down because of this sentence, and he also felt less inexplicable hostility towards Chu Jun. He asked, “How did you recognize me?”
“That shell,” Chu Jun answered truthfully. “I’ve been in contact with him all along.”
Only then did Ning Buwei remember that this person was not only Chu Jun but also Wan Li. Those vigilant precautions again turned into discomfort. His relationship with Wan Li… was truly complicated.
However, judging by his current state, he must have come out of seclusion and recovered his previous memories, then forgotten everything that happened in the swamp wilderness.
Sure enough, Chu Jun’s next question was, “Who is Wan Li?”
Ning Buwei silently breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. Although five hundred years had passed, when he thought about Wan Li, whose waist he hugged and took advantage of back then, being Chu Jun of the Wanxuan Academy whom he hated to the bone, he couldn’t help but feel his scalp tingle.
The painful experience of being disciplined by Chu Jun and dragged to the Self-reflection Pavilion to copy sword manuals every day was an indelible shadow in his heart.
“An irrelevant person,” Ning Buwei said with a serious face, changing the subject. “Isn’t your emergence ceremony about to begin?”
——
“Senior Sister Shen.” Chu Xin sat in the spirit-binding array, his white disciple robe stained with blood. He looked up at the woman standing outside, his eyes bloodshot, his expression weary, his voice hoarse, as if he had lost all vitality overnight. “My master, he—”
“Elder Chu Wu’s soul lamp has already gone out,” Shen Xi looked at him, a hint of pity in her eyes. “Junior Brother Chu Xin, my condolences.”
Chu Xin looked at her dejectedly, his voice choked with tears, “Senior Sister, am I dreaming?”
Why, in just one night, had all his master, senior, and junior brothers died tragically, leaving only him alive?
Shen Xi’s eyes reddened slightly, “Your father, Chu Sun, and I will find a way to rescue you. Anyone with eyes can see you were being controlled.”
But what good was it if they could see? He had killed his own brothers with his own hands. There would be countless rumors in the future. Even if he could get through it, it would be difficult to overcome that mental hurdle. His Dao heart would ultimately be unstable, making it hard to progress. His path of cultivation… was thoroughly ruined.
He should have had a limitless future, living boldly and freely.
Shen Xi couldn’t bear to think further. She suppressed her excess emotions and asked, “Junior brother, you said earlier that Ning Buwei was in the Wushi Sect. Is that true?”
At that time, the Yuanye Peak was in chaos due to Chu Wu’s death. Chu Xin was emotionally unstable and unclear-minded, and everyone was panicking because of that blue light. She hadn’t immediately inquired then.
“I…” Chu Xin closed his eyes briefly and said hoarsely, “I met them with Mastial Uncle in Linjiang City…”
Recalling how he had foolishly let them into the house for shelter, Chu Xin felt full of regret. “He saved my life and Martial Uncle’s. I was very grateful to them. When I learned they came to the Wushi Sect, I was especially happy… But yesterday when I went to find them, I heard that senior personally admit he was Ning Buwei…”
He couldn’t understand at all how Feng Zizhang and Jiang Yizheng could treat a thief as their father. Ning Buwei was recognized as a great demon in all seventeen states, with countless lives on his hands. How could they violate righteousness and assist evil?
“Tonight, Master—” Chu Xin choked, “When Master fell, I saw Ning Buwei. He was hiding in the crowd… Senior Sister, did he take revenge on me because he discovered I was eavesdropping?”
Chu Xin painfully clutched his head and cried, “Why didn’t he just kill me? He could have just silenced me alone… Why did he have to kill Master and Junior Brother Chu Zhi and the others? They didn’t do anything, why did they have to die?”
“I heard Master say that years ago… when Ning Buwei fell into possession, he killed several of his Ning family clan members in the same way,” Shen Xi looked at Chu Xin and said, “Whether this was actually done by Ning Buwei can’t be concluded now, but no matter what, Junior Brother, you were just being controlled. It wasn’t your fault, understand?”
Chu Xin looked at her with a devastated gaze.
“You need to pull yourself together and find the culprit as soon as possible to avenge your master and brothers,” Shen Xi ultimately couldn’t bear it. “If you collapse now, you’ll only bring joy to your enemies and pain to those who care about you, understand?”
Chu Xin stared blankly with reddened eyes for a long time before nodding vigorously.
****
“Didn’t Chu Xin say he’d come to join us this morning to watch the ceremony?” Jiang Yizheng squatted on the steps in front of the door. “The Venerable left almost half an hour ago, why hasn’t he come yet?”
“Maybe he got busy and forgot,” Feng Zizhang looked around at the greatly changed landscape. “Hmm, or maybe he got lost.”
“Sigh,” Jiang Yizheng let out a sigh.
“Why didn’t you go along with the Venerable earlier?” Feng Zizhang plucked a weed from under his feet.
“I didn’t dare,” Jiang Yizheng covered her face with her hands, lamenting, “To think I let Venerable Jinghe eat roasted sweet potatoes. I’m guilty.”
“It’s alright, relax,” Feng Zizhang said in a low voice. “I just saw the Venerable changing Xiao Shan’s diaper with our father.”
Jiang Yizheng resisted, “No, I can’t imagine that.”
“Imagine what?” Ning Buwei’s voice sounded above their heads.
“Diapers—” Jiang Yizheng looked up and saw their father holding two washed diapers in his hand, his gaze sweeping around the courtyard as if looking for a place to hang them.
“The sun is good between those two trees,” Jiang Yizheng pointed out to Ning Buwei, taking a rope from her storage ring. “Zizhang and I will tie a rope.”
While tying the rope, Feng Zizhang asked, “Little Jiang, how do you have everything in your storage ring?”
“Life’s necessities,” Jiang Yizheng stood on tiptoe, tying it a bit higher. “Living wherever we go, we have to carry everything with us.”
Ning Buwei shook out the cloth and hung it on the rope. The early winter sunlight was still decent, enough to dry it for an hour or two.
“Father, why didn’t you go with the Venerable?” Feng Zizhang curiously asked Ning Buwei.
Ning Buwei was puzzled. “Why should I go with him?”
“That Sect Leader said something about respectfully welcoming the Venerable to bring his wife and son…” Jiang Yizheng’s voice grew smaller under Ning Buwei’s increasingly dangerous gaze. “The Sect Leader said it, not me.”
“Yes, Venerable Jinghe even nodded,” Feng Zizhang helped to confirm.
Ning Buwei’s expression became somewhat strange, “He even nodded?”
“Mm! He really nodded!” Jiang Yizheng carefully recalled, “I think he even smiled a bit.”
Feng Zizhang asked confusedly, “Did he smile?”
“He did, the corner of his mouth curved up a bit, like this.” Jiang Yizheng nodded confidently, then slowly pulled at the corner of his mouth with an expressionless face.
“Tsk… you call that a smile?” Feng Zizhang’s eyes hurt just looking at it.
Ning Buwei’s face soured a bit. Wife? Chu Linyuan’s mouth seemed to be asking to be sewn shut.
If anything, it should be their Venerable Jinghe being his wife, but with that face, he’d easily be snatched away as a cauldron.
Thinking this way, the great demon instantly became more displeased.
“Father, are we really not running?” Jiang Yizheng still remembered that her father was the great demon and was very crisis-aware. “What if the Venerable finds out about your identity?”
Feng Zizhang also looked worried, “But if we all leave, what about Xiao Shan?”
Ning Buwei said carelessly, “If he knows, then he knows.”
He reckoned that Chu Jun probably knew his current identity but for some reason hadn’t confronted him about it.
“Then Father, can you defeat the Venerable?” Feng Zizhang asked blankly.
“Of course I can,” Ning Buwei shamelessly fooled the children, smirking, “If he doesn’t collude with us, I’ll kidnap him from the Wushi Sect and make him a cauldron.”
Jiang Yizheng covered his mouth in horror.
Feng Zizhang’s eyes widened in shock.
Ning Buwei snorted, about to chide them for their timidity, when he suddenly sensed the atmosphere was off. Following their gaze, he stiffly turned his head—
And met the cold gaze of Venerable Jinghe standing at the courtyard gate.
Ops!