Chapter 46 Life's Long Regrets Flow Like the East River 2: The Past

Beyond the Liuzhou landscape, two people sat facing each other on the observatory. A golden ring on the table emitted a faint light. Xiao Jingze's expression was unreadable: "Is this the situation you wanted to create?"

Xiao Qingyi gazed at Ming Ying's figure, her expression calm: "This is the method of Heaven's correction. When the spiritual veins are abnormal, the world is out of order. No one, whether cultivator or mortal, can withstand such a calamity. Only divine power can change this situation. Nine hundred years ago, Ming Sheng defied fate and divided up the Goddess's power, and now it has all been returned."

Xiao Jingze's eyes were cold as he questioned, word by word, "Why should the entire Ming family correct this mistake, which was made by Ming Sheng alone?"

Xiao Qingyi sighed: "To save the common people, a goddess must appear; for the goddess to appear, the Ming clan must perish. Sacrificing one member of the Ming clan will save millions of people in the world. They have prospered for a hundred years because of the goddess, and now they have made their own choice."

Xiao Jingze sneered, "What a high-sounding excuse! You all have legitimate reasons, yet you never asked for her opinion. You eliminated all the Mahayana cultivators in order to become a god, yet you claim that no one except the Goddess can fight against the Immortal Venerable. Is this what you call saving the world?"

Xiao Qingyi shook her head slightly: "You have underestimated the Immortal Venerable. The gap between immortals and humans is immeasurable. Even if ten Mahayana cultivators joined forces here, they would not be a match for the Immortal Venerable."

Xiao Jingze scoffed: "Is that so? Are you trying to say that you killed people to become a god not to satisfy your own selfish desires, but simply to gain divine power in this way to save the world?"

Xiao Qingyi lowered her eyes and remained silent. Xiao Jingze didn't care about her answer. His gaze swept over the incense burner in the corner without leaving a trace. He had already lifted seven-tenths of the restriction. At that moment, he raised his wrist, and the golden ring turned into a golden light that spun around his side. The restriction around his body broke in response.

Without hesitation, he leaned back, his body gracefully leaping down, tracing a clean arc in the air. The golden ring landed, transforming into a jet-black steed, its hooves whistling through the air, its mane like purple flames. Xiao Jingze landed steadily on its back, and Jueying let out a long neigh, galloping towards Liuzhou City.

——

Xiao Qingyi sat quietly at the highest point of the Star Gazing Tower, gazing at the heavens with an unreadable expression. She had lived for nine hundred years, and the past was like sand sinking to the bottom of the water. She rarely recalled those memories, but now those past events covered by time suddenly surfaced.

On the night of the Lantern Festival, the moon was high in the sky. The day of the goddess's birth was Xiao Qingyi's second meeting with her.

Unlike before, the infant in the swaddling clothes was lifeless, with little sign of life, and had no heartbeat.

Xiao Qingyi was not interested in her. It was only because of the prophecy that she proposed a replacement to the Ming family. Shen Ci agreed without hesitation, holding the baby in her arms tightly: "She is my daughter. I cannot watch her die."

Xiao Qingyi saw that look in her eyes again—something that everyone in the world, whether mortal or cultivator, possessed, even the one in the Xuanji Palace had it: a bored yet impulsive emotion.

Without saying much, she used magic to remove Mingying's failing heart and then placed the Mountain and River Bell, which contained spiritual power, inside to replace her original heart and maintain her life.

The spell was a success. After she finished, facing the expectant eyes of the Ming people, she calmly stated the facts: "With her mortal body, even so, she will not live long."

But the blood of the Ming clan is filled with madness, whether it is Ming Sheng nine hundred years ago or Ming Qi today who does not hesitate to study evil talismans and crooked ways in order to prolong his life.

Xiao Qingyi entered the Ming Mansion again after learning of this matter, her voice slightly cold: "Everything has a price. Using evil magic will only backfire on yourself."

Mingqi agreed with a smile to his face, but behind his back he remained as stubborn as ever, as if he hadn't heard a word.

There are many who are stubbornly unenlightened in this world, only when they taste the bitter fruit of their own actions do they realize what regret truly means. Xiao Qingyi entered the Ming residence for the third time, informing Ming Sheng of what he had done back then: "If necessary, I will take action."

Ming Qi looked at Ming Ying in silence for a moment, then raised her two hands and beckoned to her, laughing, "Grand Preceptor, look how cute my granddaughter is. What evil magic? It's just saving a child. Why worry about backlash? By the way, does your Xiao family have no girls? Tsk tsk tsk, what a pity."

Xiao Qingyi's gaze fell on Ming Ying's bruised and swollen face. She frowned slightly but remained silent. It was pointless; the Ming family was destined for destruction, and Ming Ying was destined to become a goddess. Their actions were merely adding to the karmic entanglement.

The life-extending talisman, sustained by the power of her bloodline, gradually transformed Mingying from a sickly woman confined to bed into one who could run and jump. Her condition improved far more significantly than Xiao Qingyi had anticipated. The Ming family sincerely offered incense and prayers, wishing the goddess a long and worry-free life.

Now that the Ming clan has ignited the goddess's power, the prophecy has come true, and all that remains is for Ming Ying to go to the Xuanji Palace to settle the karmic debt. Xiao Qingyi retrieved the useless memories and looked up at the scene in Liuzhou again. Although the earthquake had subsided, the fields were all withered, the fertile land was devastated and lifeless.

——

Xiao Jingze dismounted, carrying a lantern as he stepped across the scorched earth. The wind blew his robes, which still carried the stench of blood.

The glass lamp emitted a faint white light in mid-air. Wherever the light shone, the runes around the scattered corpses on the field swirled and silently drew them into the lamp.

Xiao Jingze's gaze was deep as he slowly walked across the now-silent battlefield. Beside the broken boundary marker, he finally saw the figure that almost blended into the dark red ground.

Xiao Jingze's gaze narrowed slightly. He walked over to her and slowly squatted down. Mingying was curled up in the corner, covered in blood, with her eyes closed.

He gazed at her silently for a moment, then gently placed his hand on her shoulder. Mingying didn't react. Xiao Jingze frowned, touched her burning forehead with his palm, paused, and then bent down to pick her up in his arms.

Mingying gently rested her head against his chest, a few strands of hair, stuck together with blood and tears, brushing against his chin. He wiped the marks on her face and sighed softly. How familiar this scene was.

The light from the glass lamp flickered, and the runes retracted the last remaining fragmented skeleton not far away. The sky was hazy, as if shrouded in a white mist. Xiao Jingze turned around, carrying Mingying. In the distance, the twilight had not yet dissipated. Jueying, facing the remaining afterglow, led the two away from this place.

——

Along both sides of Yunchuan Street, white banners were hung in front of the homes of the residents. The wind was still, and the bustling scene of the past was nowhere to be seen.

Xiao Jingze, dressed in black, walked from the end of the long street. He had put away the gold ring he wore at his waist. He returned to the Ming Mansion, but the person who was supposed to be lying on the bed was nowhere to be seen.

Xiao Jingze paused, and when he opened his eyes again, his pupils had turned gold. He quickly found her on a swing deep in the courtyard.

Mingying sat alone on the swing, her hair disheveled and head bowed, holding several opened letters in her hand. Hearing footsteps, she looked up at him and suddenly said, "I dreamt about them."

Xiao Jingze walked over and sat down beside her: "Hmm, what did you dream about?"

As Xiao Jingze swayed back and forth on the swing, Mingying turned her head to look at the loquat tree in the yard, recalling memories from long ago.

Her health was even worse when she was a child. She spent her days either taking medicine or lying in bed, and she would collapse after running just a few steps. One year, she couldn't sit still looking at the loquat tree outside the window. While her mother was resting, she climbed out the window, secretly moved a small stool, and climbed up the tree to pick loquats.

She picked just a tiny one when her father discovered it. He was standing under the tree, his face pale with fright. She didn't know anything, she just thought it was fun, and she swayed and giggled in the tree.

Father quickly picked her from the tree, neither scolding her nor secretly telling Mother. When Mother saw the loquats on the table and asked about them, he told her that he picked them because he was greedy.

Her mother didn't say anything at the time, but she was secretly pleased with herself, thinking that she had managed to fool even her smartest mother.

Only now did she realize that the loquats back then weren't ripe at all, her father was lying through his teeth, and her mother hadn't exposed their "conspiracy." Later, when she became adept at climbing trees, catching birds, and fishing, she had long forgotten about this incident.

Mingying couldn't help but smile, but the smile vanished in an instant. She pressed her hand to her chest and asked the person next to her curiously, "Where do you think the souls of the deceased go?"

Xiao Jingze leaned against the swing with his eyes closed and answered without hesitation: "All things in the world are conserved. Perhaps they have already entered the cycle of reincarnation and become new life."

A gentle breeze rustled through the courtyard, making the loquat leaves whisper in the breeze. Xiao Jingze opened his eyes and turned his head to look at Mingying, who was clutching the letter without saying a word, looking dazed as if lost in memories.

He tapped his fingers on the ring, then took out a glass lamp from his storage ring and placed it in her palm. The lamp emitted a soft glow, highlighting his features. Mingying looked up at him, but Xiao Jingze lowered his head and said in a low voice, "Let's go, let's bury them."

——

The back mountain of Mingshanfang was shrouded in a misty morning fog. Xiao Jingze used his compass to survey the area and selected a feng shui treasure spot that was sheltered from the wind and gathered auspicious energy. The weather was still a bit chilly at this time. Paper money fluttered in the low air. The people of Yunchuan, dressed in plain clothes, helped each other up the mountain, and occasionally, faint cries could be heard.

Mingying did not cry. Dressed in plain clothes, she knelt in front of the incense burner, the white smoke blurring her features. She steadily inserted the incense stick into the ground, bowed three times, stood up, and walked to the front to carefully identify the identity of each skeleton.

Together, they dug a row of neat, parallel trenches. Her family members were gently lifted and placed side by side in the trenches. The falling soil covered their faces, and they will rest here forever.

Xiao Jingze helped Ming Ying up and pointed to an empty space she had left behind, asking, "What's this?"

Mingying looked in the direction he pointed, thought for a moment, and then replied, "I want to be buried here in the future."

Xiao Jingze nodded: "Then leave a larger space for you."

Mingying paused for a moment: "Oh."

After asking his questions, Xiao Jingze picked up his carving knife again and clearly carved the names of sixty-five people onto the stone tablet.

Mingying wiped the stone tablet, her tone calm: "It's the last day. Will the Imperial Advisor come out?"

Xiao Jingze tapped his ring, his eyes dark and unfathomable: "She won't be coming out now. If you want to see her, you can go tonight to see her one last time."

Mingying nodded and didn't ask any more questions. Xiao Jingze looked at her: "The Immortal Venerable is currently staying in the Xuanji Palace. The fastest way is to enter through the Star Gazing Tower. You..."

Mingying patted the crumbs off her hands, straightened up, and said expressionlessly, "I'm going to kill her."

She looked up at the sky and added, "Kill them now."

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Author's note: To draw an analogy to Ming Sheng's life-borrowing principle: Ming Sheng knew that one of his future descendants would be very rich, so he borrowed (robbed) a loan of nine hundred years from the bank (Heavenly Dao), and then made his descendant (Ming Ying) repay the loan for him.

This loan is the spiritual root. The working process of the spiritual root is roughly as follows: the dragon corpse decays and releases spiritual energy -> the spiritual root absorbs and transforms the spiritual energy -> the cultivator releases spiritual power.

Some people's spiritual roots can store less spiritual energy, while others can store more; this is what is known as the difference in talent. Cultivation is about improving the rate of spiritual energy conversion, and the auxiliary role of one's natal magical artifact is to accelerate this rate.