Chapter 50 : Xia Yutang
Chapter 50: Xia Yutang
“‘The young girl had already comprehended the Dao of Time. She suddenly had a thought—if she became stronger, could she then reverse time? So she entered the void of time, tormenting herself in that void for nearly a thousand years, and finally attained Jade Radiance.’”
No wonder no one could find you.
You actually spent a thousand years in time itself, with only a void body.
“‘After the little girl attained the Dao, she traversed the long river of time, hoping to find the traces of the Little Doctor, but she could not find him......’” Xia Lianxue’s voice broke into sobs: “‘But she could not find him. She searched for many years, but within the river of time, there was no Little Doctor.’”
Lu Changyuan took a deep breath, his fist clenching tight: “And then?”
“‘And then? The little girl fought a battle of arts with the former Palace Mistress, defeated her, became the new Palace Mistress, and renamed the Immortal Palace as the Jade Palace. She believed she was still not strong enough, so even if she had to defy the Heavenly Dao, she would ascend above Jade Radiance. She thought, as long as she could reach beyond Jade Radiance, she could reverse time and bring the Little Doctor back to count stars with her.’”
Life and death had their destined order. To reverse life and death was to go against the heavens.
Yet the Palace Mistress Jade insisted on doing so.
Xia Lianxue wiped away her own tears: “‘The little girl erased her own existence, retrained in the Dao of Time, and once more walked the path of mortal dust. She had already calculated that as long as no one in this world remembered her, she could wander outside of time, truly transcending beyond the Seven Realms of Cultivation. She almost succeeded.’”
Yes.
She almost succeeded, but she did not—because she encountered the still-living Little Doctor too early.
Fate always loved to play jokes on people.
Everything was destined; not even half a point could be controlled by oneself.
“‘True Person Hanshui brought the little girl back to the Jade Palace. The little girl cultivated step by step for twenty years, until she received a mission to investigate the Heaven-Mending Pill.’”
Xia Lianxue no longer spoke, only looked at Lu Changyuan with reddened eyes.
Lu Changyuan patted her small head: “Why cry? After all the twists and turns, haven’t we still come back together in the end?”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Then, Young Master, do you like your fiancée?”
“Whether I like her or not, I will marry her.”
“Truly?”
Lu Changyuan sighed: “Truly. When have I ever lied to you?”
At last, he remembered the name of his fiancée.
In the summer pavilion, the begonias bloomed softly.
Xia Yutang.
Qiu Yuehan felt that something was not right.
The Immortal Fairy stretched out her hand to touch her own heart, only to suddenly feel a sharp pain.
She involuntarily raised her head, looking toward where the three True Persons were—but strangely, today there were only True Person Han Ze and True Person Han Qiu. True Person Han Yi was nowhere to be seen.
Qiu Yuehan recalled what Lu Changyuan had said to her the previous night—that there seemed to be something odd about True Person Han Yi. So she rose and walked toward the high pavilion.
“True Persons.”
On the simple pavilion built of rosewood, True Person Han Qiu and True Person Han Ze were playing a game of Go, occasionally glancing down at the ongoing Dao debate.
When Qiu Yuehan stepped inside, she discovered that True Person Zhu Lu was also there.
True Person Han Ze put down the black piece in his hand, smiling: “So it is Yuehan. Is there some trouble in the Dao debate?”
“The disciple wishes to ask where True Person Han Yi has gone.”
No sooner had Qiu Yuehan spoken than—
A shattering sound, earth-shaking, burst forth. In an instant, heaven collapsed and earth fell, the ground quaked and mountains shook.
True Person Han Ze suddenly stood up: “The Great Array is compromised!? Someone has blocked the Dharma Eye—the array has been breached in one corner.”
True Person Han Qiu said: “Isn’t the key in your hand?”
“So it is!”
A small glazed short sword appeared in True Person Han Ze’s hand.
“This sword, apart from the one time six years ago when I gave it to Han Yi so she could check the state of the Heaven-Purifying Dao Lotus, has never again left my possession.”
True Person Zhu Lu also stood: “Fellow Daoists, is there anything I can assist with?”
True Person Han Ze beckoned toward Qiu Yuehan: “Han Qiu, go and check the Dao Lotus, capture the thief. Yuehan, continue the Dao debate and stabilize the situation.”
Daoist Zhu Lu added: “Then I will go with Fellow Daoist Han Qiu to intercept. It seems the thief came prepared.”
Han Ze cast a deep look at Daoist Zhu Lu, then said: “Then I must trouble Fellow Daoist Zhu Lu.”
~~~~~~~
“Senior Sister... Senior Sister, someone is asking for a match with you.”
Qiu Yuehan had just returned to the Dao Debate Platform when a Junior Sister whispered this several times at her side.
Looking over, she saw a disciple of the Canglan Sect, hood pulled low so the face could not be seen.
Had there been such a person in the Canglan Sect’s group before?
She did not think much of it and stepped onto the arena.
“Please grant me your guidance.”
The other spoke softly, and then, in the next instant, surged forth like a crimson shadow, launching an attack.
Qiu Yuehan’s expression changed drastically: “You are not of the Canglan Sect... you are from the Blood Demon Palace!”
The opponent’s cultivation technique was unmistakable—that blood aura could only belong to someone of the Blood Demon Palace.
The wind blew the Daoist robe off her opponent.
The figure revealed a mouthful of bloodstained fangs, one ear missing, face hideous.
It was Elder Bloodfang of the Blood Demon Palace, of the Fifth Realm, Jade Balance.
Why would a Blood Demon Palace member be here?
There was no time for Qiu Yuehan to think further—she had already drawn her sword.
Her sword was as cold as if taken from a ten-thousand-year frozen pool, even her voice carried that bone-piercing chill: “What are you trying to do!?”
“Better mind yourself, little girl!”
At some unknown moment, Elder Bloodfang had already appeared at her back, aiming straight for her heart, as though he intended to rip it from her chest.
Jade Palace’s Fifth Sword—Cicadas Crying on Branches Beneath the Moon!
Qiu Yuehan reacted swiftly, lotus steps stamping the ground as she pulled away, then used the force to counter with a stab.
This sword technique emphasized continuous, unbroken momentum, like the unceasing cry of cicadas.
Crack!
Before the sword light could land, Bloodfang opened his mouth wide and chewed the sword light into pieces. Then, clamping down hard with his fangs on Qiu Yuehan’s blade, he kicked at the Immortal Fairy’s abdomen.
The immense force made Qiu Yuehan groan, her body shooting out like an arrow, smashing through several trees before crashing against a stone wall.
“Little girl, your sword is good—but a pity it has not yet entered the Dao.”
Bloodfang spat out a mouthful of blood, within which were fragments of teeth.
Several of his fangs had been snapped, but in the next moment, those broken teeth began to regrow.
Qiu Yuehan rose with her sword, gripping it tightly, her eyes icy.
She was at the Fourth Realm.
The opponent was at the Fifth Realm—worse, one of the Nine Sects and Twelve Palaces.
Could she win?
She did not know.
So she had to strike first.
Reflecting Moon!
Unlike others, what rose behind Qiu Yuehan was a broken crescent moon.
Her sword thrust carried with it her fierce, unyielding will.
Elder Bloodfang was startled. It was his first time seeing such a reckless woman—the chill on her blade even made his own heart tremble.
So he no longer dared to be careless. His body swelled in an instant, spraying out a mouthful of blood mist. Yet even so, a sword tip pierced out from within the mist.
Jade Palace’s Seventh Sword—Boat Rocking in Water Reflecting the Moon!
With one stroke, her blade shattered Bloodfang’s teeth once again, tearing through his swollen body.
Had she won?
No.
Qiu Yuehan stood firm, but all around her had already turned into a blood-colored Hell of Eight Sufferings.
This was Bloodfang’s Dao.
The Dao of the Fifth Realm!
Within the hell, countless phantoms raised bloody hands.
These resentful spirits, refined by Bloodfang into blood slaves, seemed ready to drag Qiu Yuehan down to accompany them.
She was about to be devoured.
She would die.
Qiu Yuehan could not help but think so.
The gap between the Fourth Realm and the Fifth Realm was simply too vast—especially when the opponent was of the Nine Sects and Twelve Palaces. Mere decades of sword cultivation could not bridge that gulf.
What should she do?
Break through the realm, of course.
Qiu Yuehan’s aura suddenly surged, clear light rising like a rainbow—yet it stuck halfway.
“To attempt a breakthrough mid-battle? A fine idea. Unfortunately, you still haven’t understood what your Dao truly is.”