Chapter 102

The two women were thrown to the ground. Zhong Kui sat at one side, pulled out a frizzy sheepskin wine jug, and drank one gulp ferociously. Because he drank too fast, some even spilt out.

"Master, you are injured, stop drinking." Xie Bi An advised.

Zhong Kui wiped the wine off his beard and glared at them, "Do you know what you have done?"

The two women were silent.

"Qi Meng Sheng used the Master of Xianyue Pavilion to threaten me, took away my Qingfeng Sword, and wants to go to Mount Tai to find the Golden Trunk Jade Policy, just to find the reincarnation of the Human Emperor and dig up his golden core. For her own selfish reasons, she disobeyed the Mandate of Heaven and randomly created karma. She has Qi deviated and became cruel and cold-blooded, even treating the lives of her own disciples as dirt. She knew you guys have been defeated, yet she does not care whether you guys were dead or alive. She has already gone mad, do you still want to take the side of an evildoer?”

Yun Xiang Yi smiled lightly, "Master saved my life, raised me to adulthood and taught me all kinds of skills. Whether Master goes to heaven or hell, becomes a god or a demon, I will go through fire and water without hesitation."

Zhong Kui was angry about it but also found it laughable, "Good, you guys are unable to distinguish right from wrong. You guys are indeed the good disciples taught by Qi Meng Sheng."

Fan Wu She said coldly, "Your master was so kind to you that you are willing to risk your life and limb for her, yet you can easily hand over Gong Shu Ju and Cheng Yan Zhi to the enemy. What is such an important task, entrusted to you by your master, is still no match for your sister's life?"

Hua Xiang Rong bared her teeth at them, her beautiful face was filled with ferocity.

Yun Xiang Yi was silent.

"This man seems to be very important to Qi Meng Sheng. So important that she had to steal him from Chunyang Sect even at the expense of being an enemy of the Immortal Alliance. So important that he was hidden in the cave of the Cangyu Sect and guarded by the Flying Plume Ambassadors personally." Zhong Kui narrowed his eyes, "Shouldn't you lay down your lives to protect someone so important, who I fear is enough to threaten Qi Meng Sheng's plans?"

Hua Xiang Rong glared at Zhong Kui, "It's not senior sister's fault. It's my own uselessness. If I can ever see my master again, I will apologize to her with my death."

"You guys really have a deep kinship ah?" Zhong Kui folded his arms across his chest and looked at them.

Fan Wu She sneered, "You are willing to follow Qi Meng Sheng in life and death, yet you let her down at such a crucial moment. Perhaps ... you guys simply didn't want Cheng Yan Zhi to live, so you conveniently handed him over to us."

Xie Bi An frowned. After careful consideration, it was indeed possible. At that time when they were both injured, Yun Xiang Yi could have totally escaped. Since the two of them had long ago realized that they would die for Qi Meng Sheng, they should not have handed over Chunyang Sect’s magical weapon and that person so easily.

However, was that person really Cheng Yan Zhi?

Yun Xiang Yi said calmly, "Now that we sisters have fallen into your hands, we are at your disposal to be killed or to have out flesh cut off, but there is no need to kill and torture our hearts, saying that we have deliberately let our master down. We do not know who the person sealed in the ice coffin is. No matter who it is, at that moment ..." she glanced at Hua Xiang Rong, "I only wanted my junior sister to live."

"Senior sister ..." Hua Xiang Rong's eyes were filled with tears.

"Naturally you want your junior sister to live, not only does this not conflict with you wanting that man to die, but it is killing 2 birds with 1 stone." Zhong Kui stood up and slowly paced in front of the two sisters, "Because as you guys know, that person is not Cheng Yan Zhi, but Xu Zhi Nan."

At these words, Xie Bi An and Fan Wu She both stared straight, their faces full of astonishment.

Yun Xiang Yi looked up at Zhong Kui, her face gradually becoming pale.

"Have you guys forgotten that I am the Heaven Master of the Underworld? At that time, the human soul of Chunyang Sect's Sect Leader was led by me personally." Zhong Kui's sword brows were tightly locked, obviously troubled by this matter too, "Inside Xu Zhi Nan's body, it was Cheng Yan Zhi's soul that lived inside."

Xie Bi An said with a trembling voice, "Master, is this true? Did you go to Yanluo Hall to confirm it?"

"Yes, I did." Zhong Kui said gravely, "I also went to find Zi Yu. In the Book of Life and Death, Xu Zhi Nan's Yang life had ended, and the time matched perfectly. While Cheng Yan Zhi died more than a hundred years ago, but that human soul was indeed Cheng Yan Zhi, and Cheng Yan Zhi's physical body was still intact and guarded by the Seven Star Life-Sustaining Lamp."

"Why?!"

Everyone in the scene wanted to ask "why", including Zhong Kui.

"I asked Cheng Yan Zhi, and he said that the Seven Star Life-Sustaining Lamp is not only able to hang on to the life of a dying person, but it also has a more important and unknown ability. That is, it can exchange a person's soul with another."

Xie Bi An gasped, "Master, what you mean is, the one who died in Xu Zhi Nan's body was actually Cheng Yan Zhi, and Xu Zhi Nan's soul is now in ..." He looked at the wooden box beside him, which contained none other than the shrunken ice coffin, and inside it, there was a sleeping young man and the Seven Star Life-Sustaining Lamp.

"What's going on here?" Xie Bi An felt his scalp tingling, "Why did they do this?"

Zhong Kui looked at the two women and then to his two disciples, "I don't know how much this matter has been revealed to them by Qi Meng Sheng, but it's better not to say it in front of them. In short, it's a century-long conspiracy by Qi Meng Sheng which also has something to do with Emperor Kong Hua."

"Something to do with Emperor Kong Hua ..." Fan Wu She's voice trembled lightly, "Could it be that, a hundred years ago, Qi Meng Sheng was plotting to take Zong Zi Heng's golden core?"

"Anyway, she is now bent on having Zong Zi Heng's golden core. Only the reincarnation of the Human Emperor can make her a new physical body."

Fan Wu She only felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, and his wounds began to hurt again.

Back then, he had gone to great lengths to search for treasures of the world in order to break through to the ninth Chongtian of the Zongxuan Sword. However, any treasure he saw would have to be offered with both hands by any person or sect. Even so, it was still as difficult as ascending the heavens to achieve great satisfaction.

More than 400 years ago, the founding ancestor of the Zong Clan was yet to break through to the ninth Chongtian. Although he did not live to ascend, he still died and became immortal. From then until now, that was the last ancestor to become an immortal in the whole immortal cultivation world. As what Qi Meng Sheng had said, since the disconnection between heaven and earth, the earth no longer gets the spiritual energy from heaven. For millions of years, it is just sitting and eating until the whole mountain is consumed*, and now it is already very thin. Even if a cultivator is highly gifted and diligently cultivates for a lifetime, the corpse cannot even be broken up to ascend. In fact, people can no longer cultivate immortality anymore.

At that time, someone told him that there was an immortal core that could help him break through to the ninth Chongtian. The temptation to ascend to immortality was not great for him, but reaching great perfection meant that he could fully exert the true power of the Xuanyuan Heavenly Secret Talisman and the Shanhe Sheji Map. At that time, these two divine treasures had helped him to unify Jiuzhou and gained complete control of them, which meant that he could truly go up into the heavens and down into hell. Going down, he could tear apart the Fengdu boundary and draw an endless number of Yin soldiers for his use. Going up, he could cut open the canopy of heaven and challenge the gods of the heavens. At that time, he could take the spiritual aura from the sky to earth* however he wanted, so why should he care about becoming immortal or not?

A hundred years of torture in the Infernal Hell had sobered him up. But at that time, his mind was corroded by the Yin energy of the Heavenly Secret Talisman, developing a demon in his heart. His infinitely expanding ambition and desire made him violent and mad, wanting to devour the heavens and bite the earth, forging an eternal hegemony, wanting to live forever and never grow old with Zong Zi Heng and be an immortal on earth.

But that one core of immortality, the golden core of a person who possesses the imperial destiny, is the core of Zong Zi Heng, the only one of its kind.

He then hesitated. He knew that Zong Zi Heng was upright and unyielding in character. If he really took this core, his big brother would hate him to death.

Yet he did not think Zong Zi Heng knew about it. When he was hesitating, he was abandoned in despair.

That was the most regrettable thing in his life which also pushed him completely into the abyss of despair. In a hundred years of hell, he suffered the ultimate pain every second of every day, but he did not lose his mind under that torture because of the belief in that name "Zong Zi Heng". He thought he hated Lu Zhao Heng the most. He thought he hated Zong Zi Heng the most, but in fact he hated himself the most. He hated himself for driving the person he loved the most to death.

But if, if it wasn't because of him, or if it wasn't just because of him but had something to do with Qi Meng Sheng, then at least he had someone to take revenge on.

Since he had decided to live all over again and not bring his grudge against Zong Zi Heng to Xie Bi An, then someone else should bear his century-old hatred. Li Bu Yu deserved to die, but it’s still not enough. So, Qi Meng Sheng will be it.

Fan Wu She recited the word Qi Meng Sheng in his heart, his hatred overwhelming.

Xie Bi An pondered, "Everyone knows that it was with the support of Xu Zhi Nan and Qi Meng Sheng that Emperor Kong Hua was able to withstand the pressure of Wuliang Sect and sat on the throne of the Human Emperor after killing his father and committing regicide. If Qi Meng Sheng coveted Emperor Kong Hua's golden core at that time and had an affair with Xu Zhi Nan, who was recognized by Emperor Kong Hua as his beloved friend, there is no telling how much intrigue and conspiracy there are in this."

"Not only that. Back then, Zong Zi Heng was controlled by Zong Zi Xiao and was actually a puppet emperor. Zong Zi Xiao scavenged everywhere for immortal pills and magical weapons, and wanted to break through to the ninth Chongtian of Zongxuan Sword. Could it be no one told him that Zong Zi Heng's golden core was the most powerful immortal pill on earth?"

Xie Bi An suddenly saw the light, "The history books said that the Human Emperor committed suicide because he was unable to bear the abuse and torture. I'm afraid the truth is that he was afraid that his core would be dug out."

Fan Wu She's hands clenched the quilt, his pupils filled with blood.

Zhong Kui's face was sullen: "It seems that this must be the case. The secret of the Absolute Human Emperor is known by very few people, but there is no shortage of capable people around Zong Zi Xiao, so he must have known." He looked at Yun Xiang Yi and Hua Xiang Rong, "How much do you really know?"

The two women pursed their lips and said nothing.

"You guys knew that Cheng Yan Zhi's body contained Xu Zhi Nan's soul, right? But you guys don't want Xu Zhi Nan to live. Why? Is it because he let down Qi Meng Sheng? Or do you think that he will become a hindrance to Qi Meng Sheng's journey to the top?"

Yun Xiang Yi said coldly, "These are all Heaven Master’s conjecture and speculation. As I have said, we do not know who that person is."

Zhong Kui sneered, "Just waking him up and asking would do. Bi An, let that thing out."

Xie Bi An used Gong Shu Ju to restore the ice coffin to its original size. It immediately occupied most of the guest room, and the biting cold once again invaded the place that had just been warmed up by the charcoal fire.

Hua Xiang Rong said, "Don't waste your energy, there is master’s spell seal on it."

Zhong Kui put his hand and pressed against the ice coffin, injecting spiritual energy into it. Immediately, the ice coffin flashed a dense patch of spells, and Zhong Kui retracted his hand as if he had been burned.

Zhong Kui looked at the ice coffin and pondered.

Qi Meng Sheng’s cultivation level was hardly comparable to his, and might even be above him. He was unsure of how to unlock the spell seal without destroying the ice coffin. Forcibly unlocking it might destroy the Seven Star Life-Sustaining Lamp, and that person inside would naturally not survive.

Hua Xiang Rong let out a mocking snort.

"Put it away." Zhong Kui hesitated again and again, not daring to take the risk.

Xie Bi An understood Zhong Kui's concerns and could only put it away.

At that moment, a clear sound suddenly came from the air, like a loud arrow cutting through the vast sky.

"What is that sound?"

"Someone has forcefully broken through the Fenglin Continent boundary." Yun Xiang Yi said.

Zhong Kui said, "Li Bu Yu has arrived."

 

---- 

PS: I should be able to upload more chapters from next Tuesday onwards, because my presentation is still not over yet (got postponed)

 

sitting and eating until the whole mountain is consumed* [坐吃山空] --- just sitting and eating, one can deplete even a mountain of wealth (idiom) / fig. to spend one's money without generating any income

from the sky to earth* [碧落黄泉] (bi luo huang quan)--- 碧落 means the sky, 黄泉 means the underworld; which means every corner of the universe

 

Edited on 13 Apr. 21 (Emzie)

 

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