Chapter 462: Not Today
A gust of wind swept by, dispersing the dust and smoke.
Chen Xuan dusted off the ash on his head. As soon as he looked up, he saw a figure standing dumbfounded in its place. "Excuse me for interrupting, but where is this place? Is it deep within the sect?"
The figure suddenly snapped back to reality. "How did you get in!? There should be a barrier set up here!"
"I came through that big well on the first peak. Ji Lian said if she insisted on planting a big tree in such an abrupt place, there must be a secret underneath."
Ji Lian—that name made her tremble all over.
"Hello, I hope I’m not wrong—isn’t this the eye of the grand protective array of the sect?" The woman standing beside Chen Xuan raised her eyebrow and smiled at her.
There was absolutely no mistake; this person was Ji Lian.
Not only did her voice completely overlap with the memory, but even the spiritual Qi emanating from her gave an inexplicable sense of comfort.
The Ji Lian at this moment was still very "young," far from when she decided to create the soulless body—her brow did not show the ever-present creases, nor was there the almost crushing fatigue in her eyes... But even so, the figure could not mistake her.
"That person... is it me?" Ji Lian looked toward the body sculpted as if from jade.
The figure seemed hesitant.
Even she was surprised by this emotion.
After all, Ji Lian had determined from the start of the design to synthesize a new soul and should try to discard emotional components, to significantly reduce the chance of summoning an inner demon.
She vaguely felt that if she revealed the truth here, it could lead to a series of unexpected consequences.
Just then, she saw Chen Xuan give her a slight nod.
In the end, the figure spoke, "Yes. Why would you..."
"Why would I appear here?" Ji Lian retorted irritably, "Of course, I’m here to help Lotus Cloud Sect resolve some troubles. It’s just that I didn’t expect even Xu Xuanling to be aware of this, and yet I was the last to find out."
"Hey, you can’t blame me for this, everything was arranged by the master." Xu Xuanling shrugged innocently.
"Tsk, don’t think I don’t know how much you listen to the master. Usually, you don’t hold them in such high regard." She glared at him. "Do I need to recount this to the master?"
"Don’t say it!" she quickly stopped her. "The past doesn’t count! I said it was a misunderstanding!"
"Ahem..." Chen Xuan cleared his throat. "This was indeed my arrangement. I told you on the way that until I took out the jade token, I wasn’t sure whether these two Lotus Cloud Sects were the same, which was why there was concealment."
What he had Xu Xuanling do as a backup plan was to call Ji Lian for help.
Before departing, Xu Xuanling returned to his world and left a specially made warning talisman for Ji Lian, saying that if the master encountered an emergency, this talisman would be used to notify her.
To reduce the probability of historical upheaval, he first waited for Ji Lian to arrive at the shop before cautiously explaining the situation, giving her a preventative warning.
However, to Chen Xuan’s surprise, when he indirectly mentioned Ji Yun’s situation, she told him that Ji Yun had already entered a state of deep seclusion, and communication between the Geminis had basically ceased. She could only sense that her brother was still alive, but even his location was unclear.
It was precisely this that cemented Chen Xuan’s decision.
Whether the future would be changed depends on what they did in the past—in other words, even if they knew the future in advance, they could take various measures to avoid upheaval.
But if he knowingly hid the consequences from his disciple, allowing tragedy to unfold unchecked, even if the twin siblings did not blame him, he could not reconcile it with his conscience.
Ji Lian walked up to the soulless body. After examining it briefly, her gaze quickly returned to the figure.
"Thank you for tirelessly guarding the sect all these years."
"..." She was stunned, seemingly unable to believe these words came from the mouth of her creator. "...That’s the purpose of my existence; I was born to keep the grand array running."
"I know, but I still must say thank you." A hint of guilt flashed in Ji Lian’s eyes. "Maybe the pressure I was under was too great back then, causing me to overlook many things... like your name. Since I foresaw your birth, I should have given you a name, regardless."
"A name? But I am not a person..."
"Who says only people can have names?" she interrupted, "Unless you just want to be called Lotus Cloud Sect."
The figure closed her mouth.
"It seems you don’t particularly like that name." Ji Lian chuckled. "In that case, I’ll call you Wei."
"Wei?" she murmured the name again.
"That’s right. I used to be called Ah Hua, Ji Yun is called Jiu, and both of us were adopted by the Wei Family, so I think calling you Wei suits just fine." Ji Lian winked. "Moreover, Wei also carries the meaning of guarding the Lotus Cloud Sect, which is a testament to your lifelong achievements."
"Yes..." She no longer hesitated but nodded earnestly. "Then I shall be called Wei."
Looking at Wei, Ji Lian felt a surge of mixed emotions.
Honestly, she had not anticipated that the master’s request for her and Ji Yun to craft a jade token was to verify the future. When Chen Xuan personally told her what the Lotus Cloud Sect would become, she was not particularly shocked—for some reason, she had already sensed that Ji Yun would wager everything to explore the path of cultivation, and he had the ability to turn this conviction into achievements ordinary cultivators could not reach. Perhaps this was the empathy between the Geminis, for although Ji Yun had never expressed such thoughts verbally, his retreat was an embodiment of his will.
She would not stop him, nor could she.
Ji Lian introspected that if she had such talent, she would undoubtedly choose the same path.
Rather than this, the fact that she would support the entire Lotus Cloud Sect alone, clashing against Ji Yun’s inner demon for centuries with seemingly unbelievable techniques, was even more astonishing.
Even if Chen Xuan informed her of the future, it was difficult to imagine growing to rival her brother.
Whether in the past or present, her role seemed merely to be someone who provided spiritual Qi to Ji Yun. Thanks to the "Gemini" effect, every portion of spiritual Qi she absorbed also meant aiding Ji Yun’s growth. As for forming the sect, improving old spells, and researching new Immortal Techniques, it was all Ji Yun’s work.
Upon learning that the vast Lotus Cloud Sect would one day rest on her shoulders, Ji Lian felt somewhat afraid. But she must not show it, neither in front of the master nor the master’s companions.
It was for this reason that she felt a tinge of guilt towards Wei. She was fully aware that creating the soulless body was both to avoid the birth of an inner demon and in hopes that someone could bear everything on her behalf.
"Alright, we can reminisce later." Xu Xuanling urged, "Now can Wei tell us where the enemy is?"
Wei looked up at the cave ceiling—they hadn’t even taken the vertical shaft pathway but had instead carved a vertical path beside the well, probably using a variant of some earth technique, no wonder they made such a noise entering.
She had thought her mission was over and that the Lotus Cloud Sect had reached the time to vanish completely, yet now she not only awaited the bearer of the jade token but also the creator of the Grotto Heaven of Lotus Cloud Sect.
Even the most solid fortress has a day of collapse.
But perhaps that day was not today.