Chapter 483 - Chu Tian Emerges from Seclusion
Fu Qingjin seemed to revolve between heaven and h.e.l.l. When he heard Hua Ci’s words, his expression eased up slightly, but when he heard what Ru Xin said, he became overcome with anger.
“If you want to talk more nonsense, get out of the room!” Hua Ci barked.
“I’m only letting him know about the current situation so that he can accept reality. It’s stimulation therapy. You dark-skinned old man, don’t be so fierce with me. We’re both Foundation Establishment cultivators now!”
Hua Ci’s face became even darker, but he felt rather helpless. He apologised to Fu Qingjin, “Fellow Fu, my disciple’s words have always been unpleasant, so please don’t take them to heart.”
Ru Xin sighed gently. “Anyway, just recuperate in peace! It’s not like you have anything you can count on anymore now that the Green Ruins sword is gone.”
Fu Qingjin stared at the snowy-white walls before him in a daze. His face changed constantly as he recalled everything that had happened in the past. The more he thought, the more furious he became, and the more pain he felt. In the end, a mouthful of blood spurted out, and he collapsed on the bed, fainting again.
“Are you satisfied now?” Hua Ci examined Fu Qingjin’s pulse in a hurry. Only when he confirmed the man had just fainted out of anger did he stop worrying.
“Humans sure are fragile!” Ru Xin lamented.
“Why did you set him off like that?”
Hua Ci was rather confused. He understood that Ru Xin was a person with a sharp mouth, but rarely did she go out of her way to target someone like this. Especially when it came to someone she was unfamiliar with, she knew self-restraint extremely well. At most, she would joke around a little.
“I just find him annoying.”
Ru Xin shrugged and turned around. With a wave of her hand, a door appeared on the snowy-white wall.
A group of cultivators from the Daemon Suppression alliance waited outside. They gathered over as soon as they saw Ru Xin and began blurting out.
“How is fellow Fu doing?” “How are his wounds? Has it affected his cultivation?”
“You have no reason to worry, everyone. Fellow Fu’s injuries are fine. His life bound weapon was damaged, which injured his mind. He needs to recuperate quietly, so it’s best if you don’t disturb him for now. I’m going back to my dwelling. I’ve specially prescribed him some medicine that can soothe his mind.”
Ru Xin bowed gently and calmly answered them. Her voice was soft, like the meekest and kindest girl in the world.
“Contact the Sword Collection palace!” “We’ve already contacted them, but they’ve given no reply.” “The daemons are completely out of their minds. They’ve actually destroyed one of the Ten Renowned Swords, the Green Ruins sword. The Sword Collection palace will never let this matter be.”
“With how great the Sword Collection palace is, there’s no need for us to worry about this. We better think about what we should do instead! Without the Green Ruins sword, he’s merely a young junior. How is he supposed to control the overall situation?”
“I think the moon demon has absolutely no interest in fighting with us. Otherwise, he could have easily killed us all. The war shouldn’t continue any longer. With all our disciples, surely we can’t remain in the Rose Cloud sect forever.”
“Yeah. We’re cultivators, so we should focus on cultivation and pursuing longevity and enlightenment. Why must we be constantly entangled in conflict like regular people? Why don’t we just engage in peace talks with the daemons?”
“Peace talks? You want to be a traitor?”
“Who’s the traitor? You better make this clear!”
They’ve always been in conflict, engaged in constant scuffles with one another. They had just forcefully mashed together. Now that Fu Qingjin’s control is gone, they’ve immediately fallen into disunity, each with their own thoughts. Let alone waging war against the daemons, but it would already be quite impressive if they managed to avoid going to battle with one another.
Ru Xin thought to herself. She pa.s.sed through the corridor, and the sounds of discussion gradually vanished. She arrived outside. The sky was overcast with endless drizzle. Mist surged atop the Lake of Dragons and Snakes. The many islands of the academy were shrouded in the rain and mist.
Gazing into the distance, Cloudwisp island stood hazily within the mist. She murmured to herself extremely softly, “The moon demon, Northmoon… Li Qingshan?”
All these startlingly precious spiritual herbs, the close connection to the Soaring Dragon Elder’s death, the behaviour after drinking the Water of Oblivion, and, even until now, his absence.
These various clues merged together and called upon a certain answer, but she stopped thinking too deeply into it.
Who doesn’t have secrets? Why should I probe into it?
It’s not like I’m his woman.
“What’s that?”
At this moment, Ru Xin gazed over and saw a streak of five-coloured light rush into the sky above Contention island. It flew over to Cloudwisp island, circled around a few times, before suddenly changing direction and flying towards her.
“Ru Xin!”
The five-coloured light landed on Benevolence island and dispersed. Chu Tian’s figure appeared, radiating with arrogance. He smiled confidently and gazed at Ru Xin with deep love, calling her name.
“Chu Tian?” Ru Xin raised an eyebrow.
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“I reached Foundation Establishment!” Chu Tian held his chest up in high spirits. Five-coloured light flowed around him as he seemed like a proud rooster.
“Oh. Congratulations.”
“Actually, I’ve always known that you have a very favourable impression of me, senior sister. But, I’m aware that a mere Qi Pract.i.tioner, a puny man, is unworthy of you. Now, I, Chu Tian, am willing to accept your feelings. I will protect you forever!” Chu Tian said slowly.
“This-” Ru Xin, who had always been so clever with her mouth, was actually left speechless this time. There was nothing she could say in response to him. She felt like a bolt of heavenly lightning from Zhou Tong had struck her.
“I may have many women, but my feelings towards you all are sincere. I will treat you all as equals. You will all be my most beloved women!”
“This-” Ru Xin originally thought Chu Tian would slowly mature after going through many aspects of life and being set back a few times by Li Qingshan. Only now did she learn she had been far too naive.
There were many cultivators on Benevolence island, who all looked over now.
Ru Xin felt a sense of deep humiliation for Chu Tian. She felt uneasy, afraid to answer him. She felt like if she answered him, she would be pulled into a situation that was just as embarra.s.sing and be completely humiliated.
If Li Qingshan’s mouth was even half as sharp as this b.a.s.t.a.r.d’s, I’d never bicker with him again!
“I know, it’s all because of Li Qingshan. He pesters you shamelessly, getting in our way. I will prove to you that compared to a genius like me, Li Qingshan is an insignificant piece of trash!”
Seeing Ru Xin’s “hesitance”, Chu Tian immediately discovered exactly where the issue lay. The issue was his great enemy, Li Qingshan!
He had gone to Cloudwisp island to find Li Qingshan immediately after emerging. Although he had just reached Foundation Establishment, he was much more powerful than regular early Foundation Establishment cultivators, as he practised the Palm of the Five Elements. He was absolutely confident he could get his revenge.
With Ru Xin’s behaviour, old and new hatred filled his mind. He bristled with danger.
“I know where he is!”
Riding on five-coloured light, Chu Tian took off into the air.
“Oi, wait!”
Ru Xin remembered that if her conclusion was correct, then it was very likely he was not in his dwelling. If an observant person discovered this, it would probably raise suspicion.
……
“The moon demon is so powerful. The Green Ruins sword is now broken, while the Lightning Slaughter sword is lost. Just who else does our Clear River prefecture have that can contend with him?”
The Foundation Establishment cultivators of the academy gathered on Contention island for a meeting. They were all rather dejected. The advantage they had built up over the three years of war had been reduced to nothing. The scarlet-haired, scarlet-eyed figure weighed on their hearts like a mountain.
“Perhaps there’s no need for us to contend with him. I don’t think the moon demon has ever actively worked against us. He has only been targeting the Daemon Suppression alliance the entire time. He might be a daemon, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be reasoned with!”
Liu Zhangqing stroked his long beard. Right now, he had a particularly favourable impression of the moon demon. Originally, the moon demon could have slaughtered them all, but he even went as far as defying the Spider Queen’s orders to spare them. His behaviour could be interpreted as an attempt to make peace.
And, the phrase, “From whichever direction the winds leap, I remain strong, though dealt many a blow” had been extremely lofty and fascinating. Let alone daemons, most of his confucian disciples could not even create a poem like that. He was a daemon, but he was still worth admiring.
Of course, without a foundation of great strength, it would be impossible for Liu Zhangqing to think like this even if Northmoon recited the anthology of Three Hundred Tang Poems.
“I agree with sir prefect. Actually, even if humans and daemons can’t get along peacefully, there’s no need for us to take it as far as mutual destruction. For example, the Mist province right now. The Treaty of Kings ceased to exist a long time ago, and there are no limitations on conflict, yet a new order has arisen from the conflict. It hasn’t descended into full-scale war like us.”
“When the founding emperor united the world, did he not have the support of daemons? It was the founding emperor who granted the t.i.tle of the Ten Daemon Kings, allowing them to stand on equal footing with the various lords and kings of the eight provinces. The Hawk G.o.d is even the highest commander of our Hawkwolf Guard. No matter how powerful the Sword Collection palace is, are they bold enough to look for trouble with him in the Dragon province? Purging the world of daemons has always been absurd and unrealistic.”
“The Green province has gone for several millennia without war, leading to far too many cultivators and daemons. They have acc.u.mulated too much strength, which they needed to release. The Treaty of Kings is no longer suitable for the given circ.u.mstances. As a result, I don’t think the higher ups set up this game of chess for us to exterminate one another, but for us to find a balance.”
Hua Chengzan spoke eloquently, truly taking the future and the bigger picture into account. He earned a series of nods from the other cultivators.
Liu Zhangqing said, “Then where do you think this balance is?”
“I’m not sure about that. That’s not something we can decide alone. The moon demon is a good opportunity for us to sit down and talk about it. I’m just worried right now that the moon demon has openly disobeyed the Spider Queen, so she’ll never let him off so easily. If that’s the case, we might really have to keep fighting until one side perishes completely.”
“In other words, I should be praying for his well being!?” Zhou Tong, who had remained silent the entire time, suddenly kicked over the table and raged.
Hua Chengzan said, “Senior Zhou, if we really can talk with the moon demon, we might not necessarily be unable to retrieve the Lightning Slaughter sword.”
There was nothing Zhou Tong could say with that. He was not a sword cultivator, but to him, the Lightning Slaughter sword was worth no less than the Green Ruins sword to Fu Qingjin, as it was a crucial item for surviving his second heavenly tribulation. No matter how ill-tempered he was, he could not neglect his own life.
Hua Chengzan said, “Then let’s see how the daemons respond.”
At this moment, a powerful aura rushed into the air.
Wei Yangsheng opened the window and took a look. He smiled. “Junior brother Chu has reached Foundation Establishment!”
Liu Zhangqing beamed inside. Just like that, his school of Confucianism had gained another Foundation Establishment cultivator. Hearing Chu Tian shout Li Qingshan’s name, he sighed. “He still can’t let go of his grievance with Qingshan.”
w.a.n.g Pushi said, “Where has that kid run off to recently anyway? Even when we message him, he doesn’t respond.”
Hua Chengzan said, “He’s probably cultivating in the Chain mountains. He might have reached an important point, so he can’t reply… Hmm? Chu Tian seems to be flying off in the direction of the Chain mountains!”
“Let’s go take a look! We can’t let them fight to the death!” However, what Liu Zhangqing implied was giving them another opportunity to see who was stronger.
Chu Tian was a disciple of confucianism after all. Having been defeated so many times, even Liu Zhangqing became embarra.s.sed. Now that he had attained an initial mastery over the Palm of the Five Elements, he should be able to win for once and redeem some of his lost pride.
All Ru Xin saw were streaks of light rising up from Contention island, with Liu Zhangqing in the lead.
“There’s going to be trouble now.”