The Journey of Immortal Cultivation-Chapter 898 - 493: Guilt (Part 2)

In his view, the Mountain God was to blame not the entire Bao Clan, but just him alone. However, Mr. Pu’s life was surprisingly tough; his first wife died early, and later he married five concubines and fathered four sons and two grandsons. The boy with the bright, rolling eyes whom Ning Xiaoxian met upon arrival was one of his grandsons.

While the entire tribe was troubled by infertility, he, the very one who angered the Divine Mountain, enjoyed immense wealth and the happiness of family, as if God was playing a joke. Yet as he aged, he lost the courage he had in his youth to venture alone, and no longer dared to confess to anyone the mistakes of his past. Intense guilt slowly settled in his heart, like a long-festering curse.

Until yesterday, when Ning Xiaoxian and her companions arrived, bringing news that the Mountain God intended to destroy the entire Pu Clan. Mr. Pu was finally overcome by the Heart Demon that bred within him, falling into a hysterical state.

After hearing this story, Ning Xiaoxian was speechless for a long time.

She and Changtian had painstakingly fought to the last step, only to be thwarted by the hand of a child, humble to the extreme in those days. Was this the damned destiny, was it the Heavenly Dao refusing Changtian’s return?

She suppressed her inner emotions, and calmly asked: "Which sect did the cultivator who took the Nanming Lihuo Sword belong to, and did they have any distinctive features?"

"The old man doesn’t know. To him, gods are gods, and immortals are just immortals." Tu Jin’s words were a bit awkward, but true. How can a mortal glimpse into the world of cultivators? "As for the appearance, it has been fifty years, he can’t remember clearly. Even a soul cultivator can’t bring back what has been forgotten to check."

So, this clue reaches a dead end again?

Just then, the vehicle came to a halt. The long journeying team had finally arrived at their temporary rest stop.

Ning Xiaoxian raised her hand, inserting Silver Needles into three acupuncture points on Mr. Pu, then handed a medicine pill to someone beside her: "Feed him this pill in two hours, and the hysteria will resolve itself. You all go rest now; I want to be alone for a while."

As soon as the three Silver Needles penetrated his body, much of the terror in Mr. Pu’s eyes dissipated, his tense body relaxed, and his eyelids drooped slightly, appearing drowsy.

Everyone left.

After a while, she supported her head and stood up, swaying into the God Demon Prison. Changtian had not spoken for a long time, and she was worried, needing to go in and check.

It turned out her concern was indeed warranted, for though the figure sitting in the center was still steady like a rock, subtly betrayed a sense of desolation and melancholy. Qiongqi was nowhere to be found.

Changtian kept his eyes closed until she approached and murmured: "Girl, I feel so sad."

The light on the wall illuminated his flawless profile, casting a shadow so fragile it made her want to cry. The Dragon Binding Rope on him moved slightly, emitting a rustling sound, reminding her that the person before her was enduring constant pain from the skewering of his scapula and the extraction of his Divine Power. However, despite all her efforts, she could not rescue him.

She was truly powerless.

The only thing she wanted was to collapse in his embrace and weep, but she could not do so. He was the one who most needed comfort.

So she forced herself to calm down, reached out her fingertip to gently touch Changtian’s face, and tried hard to make her voice sound more composed and convincing: "The Nanming Lihuo Sword is a Divine Sword. Such a treasure cannot be content with ordinariness. As we continue our search, we’re bound to find more clues!"

Changtian remained unmoved and silent.

"The Nanming Lihuo Sword emerged fifty years ago. Didn’t you say that such a treasure can only be borne by those with great fate, or it will harm its owner? The one who took the Divine Sword back then may not necessarily be someone of great power; unless they have heaven-defying luck, even if they kept it hidden away, it would ultimately fall into the hands of an expert. The world is full of ordinary people like sands of the Ganges, yet those who can be considered experts are perhaps one in a thousand." She chuckled and said, "If it’s in the hands of an expert, that’s even better, as the range of options is reduced a thousandfold. Even if Sect Leader Bai Qing of the Chaoyun Sect got it, whether through theft or robbery, we would find a way to obtain it."

She seemed to become more energized as she spoke: "Tomorrow we’ll set off back to the Hidden Stream, have He Sect Leader assign another batch of demons to work under me. I plan to establish a Chamber of Commerce based on the Pian State Bank, building strength while searching for the whereabouts of the Nanming Lihuo Sword..."

"Ning Xiaoxian. Haven’t you given up yet?" Changtian suddenly interrupted her torrent of words, "I am tired."

His voice was low and hoarse, carrying unprecedented defeat and exhaustion. Her chest suddenly ached intensely, as if her heart was being wrenched tightly, squeezing out a lot of bitterness. She heard herself laugh oddly and say: "No. A promise made must be fulfilled; unless I’ve saved you, I won’t give up!"

Changtian sighed deeply, placing her hand on his chest: "But I am tired, it can barely keep beating."

Her nose tingled sharply, and her eyes felt hot, yet a smile remained on her face: "Stop deceiving me, do you still think I’m the naive girl from Qingshui Village? Your heart never liked to beat much from the start, ten beats in two hours is good enough." At this moment, she truly wished he was his usual aloof self. (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets; your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)