Chapter 58 - 55: Miao Yu Palace Master
"Young Master, when you exorcised the demon from me back then, you touched my entire body. Hmm, and you were quite rough about it. Oh, right, did you enter my dreams back then?"
Lu Changyuan’s voice was steady. "Enter your dreams?"
Then the Fairy suddenly asked, "Between my senior sister and I, whose skin is smoother?"
’What in the world are you talking about?’
’I don’t understand a single word.’
Lu Changyuan turned his head and was met with Xia Lianxue’s mischievous smile. It was rare for the Fairy to wear such an expression.
She was like a Demoness.
Xia Lianxue suddenly threw herself into Lu Changyuan’s arms again. She rubbed her head fiercely against his clothes a few times before turning away.
The Fairy raised her hand.
Heaven and earth froze. Everything slowed as if trapped in a mire.
The countless bloody tentacles connecting to the blood moon snapped, inch by inch. Viscous, scarlet secretions splattered across the land, filling the air with a nauseating stench.
From the sky, Han Ze roared, "Who?!"
Xia Lianxue took a light, graceful step. The mist parted suddenly as if to avoid her, and the light of the true moon spilled over her, draping her in a gentle, silken veil.
The two moons in the sky began to vie for supremacy.
Han Ze cultivated the True Moon Dao. Had she truly entered Yao Guang, she would have become the second moon.
The blood moon’s light finally fell upon Xia Lianxue.
Xia Lianxue didn’t make any grand movements. She simply stood there in her plain white dress, her presence softening time itself, as if she were the only thing left between heaven and earth.
She was no longer walking the path of the Red Dust. Thus, the Law of the Seventh Realm Yao Guang blossomed in its entirety, and the whole of Miao Yu Palace seemed to be cordoned off from time itself.
The Fairy extended her hand and gently turned it over.
And time began to reverse.
The tentacles that had not completely snapped began to shorten, retract, and finally vanish. The blood moon, too, regressed step by step, reverting to the form of Han Ze Master.
The entirety of Miao Yu Palace also regressed, and with it, the Mountain Defense Array.
The shattered mountain gate and the broken White Jade Pavilion were gradually rebuilt. Broken bricks and shattered tiles pieced themselves back together, reforming the majestic grand hall as if nothing had ever happened.
Han Ze Master stared at Xia Lianxue in disbelief. She said, "Palace Master?"
The hazy image of the Palace Master’s face gradually came into focus. Xia Lianxue no longer needed to prove her path above the Seventh Realm; the memories of all who had once known her naturally flowed back.
Among the myriad stars in the sky, one suddenly blazed with light.
That was her star, proof of her own Dao being inscribed upon the firmament when she achieved Yao Guang.
Xia Lianxue looked at Han Ze and said, "I can’t save you."
Han Ze Master had lost her blood moon Demon Body, but that didn’t mean she was no longer tainted by the Desire Demon. Her face contorted with savagery as she transformed into a streak of blood-red light and charged at Xia Lianxue. "Does the Palace Master intend to stop me from reaching Yao Guang? Then I will use you as the foundation for my Dao! Once I reach Yao Guang, Miao Yu Palace will be able to stand for a thousand autumns!"
The wind howled.
And she arrived.
Xia Lianxue said softly, "It was Han Lian who brought you into the palace. That was four hundred years ago, wasn’t it? You’ve done so much for Miao Yu Palace, acting more like the Palace Master than I ever did. I was useless."
The Fairy waved her hand, and the clouds scattered.
A colossal beam of light abruptly pierced the night.
BOOM!
A massive bolt of lightning struck down.
The Celestial Dao does not permit those who have fallen to the Demon path to remain in the mortal world. The only reason Su Wuxiang was able to withstand the first Tribulation Thunder was because he still possessed his Demon Body. But now that Xia Lianxue had reversed Han Ze Master’s transformation, she naturally could not resist the Tribulation Thunder.
"I have no right to punish you. Because you... you fell to the Demon path because of me."
What was Han Ze Master’s "desire"?
Unlike Su Wuxiang, it wasn’t an obsession with the Power of Yao Guang. What she wanted was to ensure the continuation of Miao Yu Palace’s legacy.
The first person to investigate the forbidden grounds for the Miao Yu Palace Master wasn’t Hanyi Master, but her.
Han Ze Master was certain the Miao Yu Palace Master was no longer in the forbidden grounds, as her Dao was no longer present. Only then did she begin scheming to enter Yao Guang. But later, her desire eclipsed her original intentions, becoming an obsession. She resorted to extreme measures, even planning to sacrifice the disciples of Miao Yu Palace in the end.
Xia Lianxue watched Han Ze Master with sorrow.
Bolt after bolt of lightning illuminated the night sky.
When darkness returned, Han Ze Master was nowhere to be found.
Of Miao Yu’s three True Masters, two were now dead and one was injured, leaving only Han Qiu Master.
And perhaps because Han Ze Master had suffered Celestial Punishment, the heavens began to weep, the rain falling with a bleaker chill as if to wash away the world’s filth.
The clouds parted, revealing a golden hue from within.
Xia Lianxue glanced at the clouds, then turned her head.
Her star in the sky shone brightly once more, but a closer look revealed it to be somewhat shattered.
Her trial in the Red Dust had failed, so she naturally suffered a significant backlash.
But it didn’t matter. Xia Lianxue gazed softly at Lu Changyuan. She was once again with the person she wanted to see.
The Fairy walked to Lu Changyuan’s side and took his hand. "Young Master?"
Lu Changyuan stared intently at the sky. ’The Celestial Dao is angry.’
’Why?’
’Han Ze is already dead. Why hasn’t the Thunder Tribulation vanished?’
The rain grew heavier.
Xia Lianxue’s soft voice drifted over, drawing Lu Changyuan’s attention. "Young Master, come with me and get the Drunken Red Simurgh."
"What exactly is a Drunken Red Simurgh?"
The Fairy’s gaze was as tender as water, her beauty so captivating it was impossible to look away. "You’ll find out soon, Young Master."
A gust of wind blew, and when Lu Changyuan opened his eyes again, he was back on the Immortal Mountain.
There was still the same large tree, the small thatched hut, and the lonely grave in the distance.
"Why did we come here?"
Xia Lianxue smiled playfully. "I hid the Drunken Red Simurgh in the house. I’ll go get it for you, Young Master."
Before Lu Changyuan could react, the Little Fairy skipped into the house.
’Just like the little girl from all those years ago.’
Lu Changyuan sighed and sat down beside his own grave mound. Buried within was Lu Changyuan, who was also the Chang’an Daoist.
He was thinking about something else.
Something he had suspected for a very long time.
Why did he feel like this world was a game? Everything was so real, his memories so vivid. He even remembered the reason he began his Cultivation.
The Chang’an Daoist cultivated the Emotionless Dao and the Killing Dao.
This was because the Chang’an Daoist’s path of Cultivation had not been a happy one; one could even call it powerless. The Cultivation Realm of the past was far more chaotic than it is now. If you were weak, you weren’t considered human—you would become food for others.
The wandering swordsman who roamed the four corners of the land had become a cold-blooded figure of high standing, and also a man-eating Demon.
Demons ate people, the Demon Dao ate people, Desire Demons ate people. And the Righteous Dao? The Righteous Dao was gradually becoming a man-eating Demon Dao.
In such an environment, everyone had gone mad!
The cold of the moon and the warmth of the sun wore down a person’s life. One by one, the people the Chang’an Daoist knew became obsessed with their Dao and fell to demonhood. The world was a nauseating mess of corruption, filled with the cries of infants and night-ghouls feasting on human flesh.
Someone said, "If others can eat them, why can’t I? They’re going to die eventually anyway, so they might as well be eaten by me!"
Someone else said, "Sacrifice a city of mortals to slay a Great Demon? Why not do it? Only by killing this Great Demon can more mortals live in the future!"
Was any of that right?
Lu Changyuan felt that none of it was right, but he didn’t know what was.
What could the Chang’an Daoist do?
He was just an ordinary Cultivator, not some savior, and certainly not one blessed by destiny. All he had was the three-foot sword in his hand. And so, he tried to kill all those who had forgotten they were human, hoping to restore clarity to the world.
Did he succeed?
He didn’t know.
But things were definitely better than before.