Chapter 17 Five Hundred Years Ago

Chu Jianshan paused for two seconds without speaking. He knew this method was risky, but he had to try it no matter how risky it was.

Cheng Yuan, who was sitting down, said slowly and deliberately, "Since you're willing to talk about it, does that mean you've agreed to our deal?"

The man nodded. He didn't know how these two could help him, but hope was better than nothing. After all, he couldn't be in a worse situation than he was now. So he tried to start by introducing his background.

“My name is Zhao Ming. I am the son of the tenth sect leader of Linyi Sect five hundred years ago. When I was five years old, my father adopted a person born with a heart meridian deficiency and named him Zhao Yi.”

When Zhao Yi was mentioned, Chu Jianshan and Cheng Yuan exchanged glances. They both knew who he was. He was the legendary man who sacrificed all his spiritual power five hundred years ago to set up a barrier to isolate the demon race. People all over the world have always regarded him as a hero. What secrets could such a person have?

Zhao Ming continued, "We grew up together since childhood and are as close as brothers. Although I am the son of the sect leader, my cultivation is inferior to his. I thought the position of sect leader would definitely be left to him, but unfortunately, he was determined by the healers that he would not live past the age of 20."

"Later, he met a girl who helped him prolong his life. That girl was Qiao Azhao, the daughter of the Qiao family, which was the only remaining Wood Spirit Core family at that time."

Wood Spirit Core...

Chu Jianshan slowly lowered his eyes to think. He did know some rumors about wood spirit cores before. For example, nowadays, the spirit cores of cultivators can be divided into four types according to their spiritual power characteristics: metal, earth, fire, and water. But hundreds of years ago, there was a fifth type of spirit core in the world, namely the wood spirit core.

People born with a Wood Spirit Core are rare. Although they are not good at offensive spells, they are good at healing. There are even rumors that a Wood Spirit Core can grant immortality. As a result, people with Wood Spirit Cores are no longer treated as human beings, but as prey.

Many people began to hunt down those who possessed wood spirit cores, dissecting them alive and attempting to transplant them into their own bodies to achieve immortality.

Until five hundred years ago, the last remaining Wood Spirit Core clan in the world was the Qiao clan. Thanks to the protection of the Linyi Gate, this clan was able to live and thrive safely.

Zhao Ming continued, "Zhao Yi fell in love with that woman. In the same year, my father's condition began to worsen. Under the torment of his illness, he made a decision that I can never forgive in my life."

"He sent men to besiege the Qiao family, capturing all the members of the Qiao family alive to treat his illness, and even dissecting the spiritual cores of some of them alive, but it was still useless, and his illness did not improve."

"Until he used the last person's wood spirit core, namely Qiao Azhao, whose spiritual power was rich and pure, it had a miraculous effect on my father's illness. So my father imprisoned her and never let her see the light of day again."

"Later, when my father recovered from his illness, Zhao Yi knelt down and begged my father to release Qiao Azhao. My father then threatened him, making him voluntarily give up his position as sect leader. He agreed and then left Linyi Sect with Qiao Azhao."

"But a few days later, my father suddenly died. Before he died, he passed the position of sect leader to me."

“I never cared about the position of sect leader. I knew that Zhao Yiyuan was more qualified than me, so I thought I would return the position to him when he came back.”

"Half a month later, he did return, but he returned with hatred. Qiao Azhao was dead, and he directed all his hatred at me. He took the position of sect leader without listening to my explanation, and then claimed to outsiders that I had died of illness."

"You all probably saw how I actually died."

After the story was finished, none of the three spoke for a moment. Chu Jianshan roughly understood what this person's obsession was. He had grown up with Zhao Yi since childhood, but Zhao Yi did not believe him. Perhaps he had been waiting for Zhao Yi in the spirit world, or perhaps he was just waiting for an apology from him.

Five hundred years have passed since then.

Five hundred years is too long, so long that many people and things have been forgotten; yet five hundred years is also too short, so short that there is not even time to say sorry. Perhaps Zhao Yi has already passed through the spirit world many times and reincarnated many times. However, the fate between the two has run its course, and they have not seen each other for five hundred years.

The next morning, the Bliss Pavilion gradually became lively, as everyone heard the news that someone was going to break into the pavilion. This was a rare event that happened only once in a century, so everyone was sure to come and join in the fun.

Unfortunately, Ji Shi had just woken up after a good night's sleep when he heard this bolt from the blue.

He looked at the two people in front of him with a confused expression and questioned, "What were you two doing behind my back last night? How come I'm the only one who didn't know?"

"Well..." Chu Jianshan said somewhat guiltily, his eyes darting around, "We were naturally doing serious business last night, who told you to sleep so soundly?"

Ji Shi squinted at him, looking incredulous. Just as he was about to press for details, he saw the Pavilion Master walk over. Today, he had changed into a whole set of pink clothes, and his hair was still piled up in a frighteningly high bun, looking just like a large peony.

"Well, have the three of you reached a decision?" the Pavilion Master asked.

Chu Jianshan nodded and said, "We've reached an agreement. No matter how difficult it is, we're willing to give it a try."

Ji Shi: ? Who consulted me? ???

The Pavilion Master lowered his head, covered his mouth with his hand, and chuckled softly, saying, "It's really strange. You haven't even jumped over the Pool of Rebirth, yet you're already thinking of storming the Pavilion?"

Oh no, I forgot about that...

Chu Jianshan cleared his throat, just about to use his expertise to come up with a convincing lie, when he was interrupted by the Pavilion Master.

"Fine, you can go ahead." He smoothed the stray hairs from his forehead and muttered, "Since they're actively seeking death, I can't just stop them..."

Chu Jianshan thanked the pavilion master, then asked, "May I ask what things are in this pavilion? Are they really so powerful that they deter people from entering?"

The pavilion master chuckled, turned around, and slowly approached Chu Jianshan. The fragrance emanating from his body was almost overwhelming for Chu Jianshan.

"These are all spirit beasts that I have carefully raised for thousands of years. They feed solely on people's obsessions. The deeper the obsession, the harder it is to get through. Have you really thought this through?"

"I've thought it through."

This time, Cheng Yuan answered without the slightest hesitation. This was the only way to get through.

Chu Qingyuan had told him before that you can only know if something will work by trying it. Even though the cost of trying may be high, it is better than staying still.

The pavilion master eventually agreed to their reckless behavior, and everyone made way for them. Under everyone's watchful eyes, the three slowly ascended to the eleventh floor of the pavilion.

The eleventh floor was already very high. Ji Shi was trembling as she walked along the railing. She wanted to cry but no tears came out.

"Are we really going to go and die like this?" he asked, pursing his lips.

Chu Jianshan countered, "Do you intend to stay here forever?"

Ji Shi shook his head vigorously. He didn't want to stay here. It would be better for someone who was afraid of ghosts to be with a bunch of ghosts. He'd rather try to break into the attic. Besides, weren't Cheng Yuan and Chu Jianshan there?

The three decided that climbing the building would require too much physical exertion, so they divided the work and chose one main person for each floor, with the others assisting.

Since they are in the spirit realm, the spiritual power of the mortal realm is restricted here. Therefore, the strongest among the three has become Chu Jianshan. Ji Shi will be in charge of the first three levels, Cheng Yuan will be in charge of the next three levels, Chu Jianshan will be in charge of the seventeenth and eighteenth levels, and the last level, which is also the most dangerous level, will be a collective effort, with no distinction between us. If they can succeed, they can return to the mortal realm.

"We've arrived." Cheng Yuan suddenly stopped in his tracks and stood in front of a door.

"How did you know it was here?" Ji Shi asked, puzzled.

Chu Jianshan reminded him, "Listen carefully, there are roars of spirit beasts inside the house."

Upon hearing this, Ji Shi pressed his ear against the door, but heard nothing. He tried to get closer, but the door wasn't closed properly, and with a thud, he fell right inside.

He heard it now, because the spirit beast in the house was right next to his ear, growling softly.

"..."

"Ah—" Ji Shi shouted, which startled the spirit beast, causing it to take three steps back.

"You, you, you... don't come any closer!" Ji Shi pointed his sword at the spirit beast, but turned his head away from it, his arm trembling uncontrollably.

Chu Jianshan and Cheng Yuan stood aside watching, neither of them showing any intention of helping him, only wearing expressions of disappointment and frustration on their faces.

Fortunately, the spirit beast did not intend to attack him. It just tilted its head to look at him and then took two steps closer to him.

Ji Shi gradually came to his senses. Seeing that it had no intention of harming him, he slowly put down his sword, and the two of them ran towards each other, slowly getting closer.

When Ji Shi reached the spirit beast, he stopped and stroked its head. The spirit beast responded by licking his hand twice.

Seeing this unbelievable scene before him, Chu Jianshan first expressed his incomprehension, but then he probably figured it out. The Pavilion Master had said that the spirit beasts here feed on obsessions, and Ji Shi was pitifully foolish and had a terrifyingly pure heart, so he probably didn't have any obsessions. What was that called again? Oh right, fools have foolish luck!

The first level passed by in a daze. When he went up to the second level, Ji Shi was floating on air, constantly spouting boasts that this challenge was nothing special and that he had great talent.

Chu Jianshan stood aside, smiling without saying a word, and pinched Cheng Yuan next to him to stop him from speaking, so that the child could be happy for a while longer.

With the help of Ji Shi's personality, he passed the first three levels inexplicably smoothly, which gradually emboldened him. He then specifically asked Cheng Yuan to take on the fourth level as well, and Cheng Yuan readily agreed, as he was extremely happy to have one less level of work to do.

However, clearing the fourth level did not go as smoothly as they had imagined, and a small accident occurred during the process.