One by one, the disciples in the silkworm cocoons were rescued. Tantai Jin fell to the ground with a loud thud, and Zang Hai hurriedly ran over, “Junior Brother!”
Tantai Jin was already injured since coming out of the Cangyuan Secret Realm, and after fighting with the purple-clad devilish cultivator and losing too much blood, he could no longer stay conscious.
Su Su subconsciously took a few steps forward, but once she was close to Tantai Jin, she paused.
What am I doing? Do I want to return to when I was entangled with him five hundred years ago? Since I’ve chosen to cultivate the Heartless Dao, I should’ve long severed all ties with the past.
Yao Guang looked over worriedly. Su Su was silent for a moment before squatting down.
Tantai Jin’s eyes were closed, and his youthful face was pale without any color. He was cold and perverse when awake, but after such a serious injury, he was so weak that he lost all aggression.
Anyone present could easily kill him.
This was the first time Tantai Jin had let himself fall into such a dire situation.
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Hydt Tyk zssjle yv bla oyakzu, “Kwdksa Fkpvla Nk, obyv yal usw tskdt vs es?”
Rv oyp vawl vbyv bl bye y tsse kxralppksd sq vbkp kxxsavyz, cwv qsa Hydt Tyk, bkp Kwdksa Jasvbla oyp vbl qwvwal sq vbl ldvkal Dkysuys Flnv. Rq ydusdl oydvle vs byax bkp Nkvvzl Kwdksa Jasvbla, bl oswze dlhla yzzso kv.
Hydt Tyk oyp yqayke vbyv Nk Fw Fw oswze xyjl y xshl ytykdpv Mydvyk Kkd, yp pbl bye bye y ekpytallxldv okvb bkp Kwdksa Jasvbla.
Mbl kxxsavyz yavkqynv yaswde bla dlnj oyp vss rsolaqwz. Rv nswze qktbv ytykdpv y Wwpksd pvytl elhkzkpb nwzvkhyvsa, ps kq pbl oydvle vs jkzz bkp Kwdksa Jasvbla, bl oswze elqkdkvlzu dsv cl yczl vs rasvlnv bkx.
Fw Fw vwadle yaswde yde pyke, “Fldksa Fkpvla Zys Qwydt, tkhl xl y byde.”
Zys Qwydt bwaaklezu oyzjle shla. Fbl wdelapvsse Fw Fw’p kdvldvksd. Xdl sq vbl vlynbkdtp vbl Tldtuydt Flnv kxryavle oyp ‘Odezlpp Nkql1生生不息 (pbēdtpbēdtcùmī) – zkhl yde rasnalyvl tldlayvksd yqvla tldlayvksd; xwzvkrzu ldezlppzu’, ps lhlau ekpnkrzl bye psxl jdsozletl sq blyzkdt vlnbdkiwlp.
Zys Qwydt oyp vbl ekalnv ekpnkrzl sq Ozela Ckdt Ckyd, yde pbl oyp sdl sq vbl clpv kd blyzkdt.
Ekvb y vokpv sq vblka oakpvp, vblka qkdtlavkrp bshlale ycshl Mydvyk Kkd’p oswdep, yde y talld qzwsalpnldv zktbv rswale esod zkjl pvyap.&dcpr;
Zang Hai secretly sighed in relief. It looked like he’d been overly suspicious. He hurriedly said, “Thank you both, immortals.”
The shallow wounds on Tantai Jin’s body were visibly healed, while the deeper wounds could only be temporarily stanched.
Yao Guang drew back her hand, looking pale.
Essentially, immortal healing techniques used one’s abundant spiritual Qi to heal injuries. Although Yao Guang’s cultivation level was slightly higher than Su Su’s, it wasn’t significantly higher, so she had barely healed Tantai Jin’s injuries, but her spiritual energy was already nearly depleted.
Su Su also withdrew her hand.
Yao Guang sighed and said to Zang Hai, “Your Junior Brother is seriously injured and needs to recuperate for a while. My Junior Sister and I did our best, but we could only heal his shallow wounds. There are a few wounds on his body that are tainted with devilish Qi, so when you return, you’ll need to help him purge it.”
“Alright, I’ll keep that in mind,” Zang Hai replied.
The disciples who had been rescued from the devilish cocoons gradually woke up. Yao Guang was still most concerned about Gongye Jiwu, who had been taken away by the Demon Emperor.
She urged Su Su, “Junior Sister, let’s hurry back to Hengyang Sect and ask the Master and Sect Leader to rescue Senior Brother Gongye.”
Susu stood up and walked out of the secret chamber with Yao Guang. When they reached the entrance, she paused.
Yao Guang saw her pale lips and asked, “Junior Sister, are you alright?”
Su Su shook her head. “Senior Sister Yao Guang, you go back to the sect first. I forgot to say something to Zang Hai, so I’ll catch up with you once I’m done.”
“Then I’ll return to Hengyang Sect first. Take care,” Yao Guang said.
Su Su turned back, and Zang Hai looked at her in surprise.
Su Su glanced at the unconscious Tantai Jin, “Senior Brother Zang Hai, I want to ask you for a favor.”
“Junior Sister Li, please speak,” Zang Hai said.
“If he asks about the wounds on his body, how will Senior Brother Zang Hai respond?”
“Immortal Li and your Senior Sister helped him treat his wounds?” Zang Hai asked.
Su Su pursed her lips slightly, “No, only Senior Sister Yao Guang. She was grateful to him for saving all the immortal sect members, so she used almost all her spiritual energy to save him.”
Zang Hai looked at her in surprise, “Junior Sister Li, you……”
Don’t blame me for being suspicious. I also can’t help but feel that my Junior Brother had an affair with this noble immortal. What kind of person is Junior Brother? He’s usually antisocial and eccentric2孤僻 (gūpì) – reclusive (adjective), and avoids participating in anything that he can. Still, he ended up rushing forward to fight that devilish cultivator just to save this beautiful young girl.
And this immortal’s heart was ignited with compassion, but she doesn’t want me to tell Junior Brother.
“Senior Brother, please just say that. I don’t like him and I don’t want to have anything to do with him,” Su Su said.
Zang Hai awkwardly replied, “A-alright.”
Fortunately, Little Junior Brother had fainted. If he’d personally heard her turn back and say that she didn’t like him, both his pride and his heart would probably not get over it.
Su Su bowed to Zang Hai, then turned around to catch up with Yao Guang.
She wasn’t worried that Zang Hai would talk. Most cultivators took promises seriously. Since she had asked, Zang Hai shouldn’t tell Tantai Jin.
The grievances between them had long been unresolved, and Su Su didn’t want to add to them.
Even if they would be fighting the next time they met.
After a few dozen steps, Su Su softly coughed, and when she lowered her hand, it was full of blood. My internal organs are still injured after all……
Chongyu looked at the blood in Su Su’s palm and asked, “You…… you’re injured too?” Despite being injured, she had exhausted her spiritual energy to heal others.
Currently, Chongyu had just come into the world and didn’t know social norms or how to interact with others. All it knew was that its entire harp body felt unhappy right now.
“I-I’m sorry. Chongyu didn’t know that Su Su would get hurt using Chongyu konghou. Chongyu will never be impulsive again.”
Chongyu’s voice was childlike. At the outset, it was the final divine artifact that the Demon King had exhausted all the world’s treasures to cast, just in order to protect his daughter. Now it sounded dejected, as if it were crying.
Su Su was indeed injured by Chongyu Harp’s backlash, but she didn’t intend to blame it, it was just because she wasn’t strong enough.
She touched the pendant that Chongyu Harp had transformed into and said, “I don’t blame you.”
Chongyu was stunned by her gentleness.
It grew larger and transformed into a flying magic artifact, landing beside Su Su it said, “Chongyu will take Su Su to catch up with Senior Sister Yao Guang!”
*****
It wasn’t until Zang Hai brought Tantai Jin back to the Xiaoyao Sect that he regained consciousness.
Zang Hai carried a bowl of medicine boiled with spiritual herbs and helped Tantai Jin up.
Tantai Jin sniffed the medicine in the bowl then drank it all in one go. He moved his wrist and realized that his external injuries had significantly improved.
He raised his eyes to look at Zang Hai and hoarsely asked, “Who treated my injuries?”
Zang Hai felt greatly pressured by his gaze, but he replied as Su Su had taught him, “Who else could it be? Back then, you saved so many people that the Immortal Yao Guang from Hengyang Sect couldn’t bear the sight of you in your condition. Afraid that you would die in the secret chamber, she hurriedly helped you treat your wounds.”
Tantai Jin didn’t speak, but his hand holding the medicine bowl tightened.
Zang Hai couldn’t take back the bowl and felt a little guilty. Is it wrong to help an immortal outsider deceive my Junior Brother?
“Senior Brother, when you lie or feel guilty, your eyes will look to the left, and your right hand will instinctively touch the wine gourd on your waist,” Tantai Jin said.
“……I-I do?” Zang Hai asked.
He scratched his head, and finally, he couldn’t hold it in anymore. After all, who was Zang Hai! He was known throughout the Xiaoyao Sect for his gossiping and skillful mouth!
Zang Hai decided to let it all out3一吐为快 (yītǔ-wéikuài) – cannot rest until one has one’s say (an idiom), “Since you figured it out, Senior Brother will no longer hide it from you. It was Immortal Li who asked Immortal Yao Guang to help treat your injuries together.”
I’m sorry, Immortal Li. Even if I really could keep secrets, I still can’t control my expressions very well, and Junior Brother is extremely smart.
Zang Hai looked at Tantai Jin. So? Now that you know, what are you going to do?
The young man sneered and muttered to himself, “Was she pitying me, or is it because I saved those good-for-nothings, and she felt guilty4过意不去 (guòyìbùqù) – feel apologetic; feel sorry for going against her impartial Dao……”
Although he spoke mockingly, the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but curve up, and even his eyes had brightened.
Zang Hai thought to himself, no matter how harshly he criticizes himself, he’s obviously happy.
After a while, Zang Hai finally reacted, “Junior Brother, did you just say…… good-for-nothings?”
Tantai Jin handed him the bowl and calmly explained, “You heard wrong. I said ‘immortal friends’.”
Zang Hai: “?”
He couldn’t help but touch his wine gourd. Could I still be not sober yet?
During Tantai Jin’s recuperation, he learned that his Master, Immortal Lord Zhao You, had also gone missing.
Zang Hai was afraid that Tantai Jin would feel sad and worried, so he kept it from him, but news couldn’t be concealed in the Xiaoyao Sect.
Tantai Jin looked at the Time Immemorial Sword by his pillow and recalled that white-haired, white-bearded, amiable-looking old man.
Zhao You was over three thousand years old this year, but his cultivation had reached a bottleneck, and his appearance had gradually aged.
It had been autumn when Immortal Lord Zhao You picked up Tantai Jin. Everything was desolate. Even the ginkgo trees in Xiaoyao Sect had turned golden. Zhao You had created a donkey to carry him back to Xiaoyao Sect.
Back then, Tantai Jin had been covered in blood, and his white bones were visible all over. Zhao You had taken out all of his precious treasures to nourish his body, and Zang Hai had tirelessly taken care of him for ages. Only then did his flesh grow back.
“What’s your name?” Zhao You had asked him.
“I no longer remember.” Tantai Jin looked out the window, watching the disciples fly past on swords, the vibrant colors reflected in his eyes. Is this…… immortal Dao?
Zhao You had replied, “Whether you can’t remember or don’t want to recall, it doesn’t matter. Since fate brought you to Xiaoyao Sect, this proves that you should enter the immortal Dao. Are you willing to follow me and cultivate together?”
Tantai Jin turned back. He had always been someone who could either stoop or stand5能屈能伸 (néngqū-néngshēn) – can bow and submit, or can stand tall (idiom, from Book of Changes); ready to give and take; submit or assert oneself as the occasion requires; be adaptable to circumstances. He didn’t have much respect for him, but his mouth still respectfully said, “Master.”
Zhao You was delighted6眉开眼笑 (méikāi-yǎnxiào) – brows raised in delight, eyes laughing (idiom); beaming with joy, and let him follow his own mortal surname ‘Cang7沧 (cāng) – blue; vast; cold’, along with bestowing him the name Jiu8九 (jiǔ) – ninemin9旻 (mín) – autumn; sky (homophonic with ‘min10民 (mín) – subjects; citizens’ which means ‘the people’).
It meant autumn, but also had an obscure meaning of the supreme Ninth Heaven. Zhao You had imparted all his teachings to Tantai Jin, hoping that his young disciple, with an extraordinary root and bones, could glimpse the divine Dao.
However, now, not only Zhao You, but many others from the immortal sects had also disappeared in Taixu. The emergence of the Demon Emperor instantly brought turmoil to the cultivation realm.
Zang Hai sighed and said, “I heard that Gongye Jiwu of the Hengyang Sect was taken away by the Demon Emperor. These days, people from the Hengyang Sect are searching everywhere for a Demon and Devil Realm token to save Gongye Jiwu. As for our Master, where is he and is he safe?”
Tantai Jin watched the herbs bobbing up and down in the jade bowl and said with a dark and gloomy gaze, “I’ll go find him.”
I still have to bring the old man back. He’s getting older, and if he were to die a miserable death outside, those who are ignorant would assume that Zhao You’s disciples have vanished from the world.
*****
For Hengyang Sect, things had also been gloomy recently.
Their Sect Leader was in seclusion, and whether he could break through was unknown. Qu Xuanzi had three disciples— his eldest disciple was taken away by the Demon Emperor, and his youngest disciple was severely injured.
Hearing that the person who had injured Yue Fuya was a male disciple from the Xiaoyao Sect, and with the Sect Leader not around, the law enforcement elder, Qing Qian, was naturally placed in charge of this matter. He personally sent a letter to Xiaoyao Sect, hoping that they would severely punish their disciple in order to seek justice for Yue Fuya.
There was still no reply from the Xiaoyao Sect. But meanwhile, on the Hengyang Sect’s side, Su Su and Yao Guang had left to look for a Demon and Devil Realm token.
Yao Guang looked haggard, “It has been so long, will the Demon Emperor have implanted a devil core into Senior Brother Gongye too, and turned him into a devil? Or…… if he couldn’t refine the devil core, and is already……”
Su Su shared the same concerns. She knew that Yao Guang was blaming herself more than she did. Su Su comforted her, “Since the Demon Emperor personally took Senior Brother away, it must mean that he has some significant use in the Demon Emperor’s eyes. They won’t harm his life.”
Yao Guang choked and said, “We should hurry and find a token to save Senior Brother.”
Su Su nodded.
However, it was easier said than done. How could it be easy to find a token? After the Great War of Immortals and Devils, the demons and devils were forced to retreat into the desolate Devil Domain. There, the air was turbid, and cultivation was hard. Unlike the vast and beautiful immortal and mortal realms, the Devil Domain was a dirty and narrow existence.
But precisely because of this, that small domain could be sealed off by the Demon Emperor. While they could leave the Devil Domain, the people from the immortal realm had never been there before. It was said that only people with a Devil Domain token could enter.
Yao Guang didn’t hesitate to come out and search, but Su Su was afraid that she would do something reckless. She was also worried about Gongye Jiwu, so she followed her out.
“Where can we find a token? Can we capture a demon or devil and force them to tell us?” Yao Guang asked.
The Demon Emperor has just been born, and the demons and devils aren’t rampant in the immortal realm yet. Where can we find a powerful demon who knows about a Devil Domain token?
Su Su paused for a moment, then softly said, “The mortal realm.”
The place she least wanted to go.
——————————————————————————————————————
The author has something to say:
Su Su: I made a wrong move. The people of Xiaoyao Sect are all oddballs.
Edited by: Gaze
Awww, despite his harsh tone, TTJ has grown to care for his fellow Xiaoyou disciples especially his master.
This is the 1st he didn’t want someone to die in a miserable death outside of YXW/LSS.
Love his brotherly bond with Zhang Hai and him finding out Susu healed him made him happy.
Susu witnessed him risking his well being for others like never before and healed his injuries.
Against her better judgements, she started to care for him again.
Remember how TTJ treated YBS well because he thought he loved her? It’s all simply because he knew that a man ” is supposed to treat his beloved well”.
Now, he also knows that a disciple was supposed to–at least–look for his/her shizun/shifu/master; to not let him died alone and miserable. At this point, I’m not sure whether his willingness to look for him was out of impersonation of a normal person, out of obligation, out of his care, or a mix of a little bit of all of those.
He used to do everything in pursuit for power & those like YBC planted seeds in him to use him to get rid of the competitions with temptations & pretending to be kind to him for their goal.
The sect members, especially his master, took care of TTJ & didn’t asked anything in return. He had opportunities to leave them in pursuit more powers just as his senior brother said before, but he chose to remain with them despite being well known the weakest of all the immortal sects
I still feel so sad for Tantai Jin. I hope Li Su Su remembers everything soon. Even if she doesn’t, I hope she stops hating him. I just want my babies to be happy together.
Awwwww….he’s so happy that she healed his injuries!