Chapter 12 Chapter 12 Secrets from Several Years Ago
Twenty years ago, Ji Ruoxi, Danxi and Zhuo Fanyan ventured into the martial arts world together.
Ji Ruoxi was born into a prominent family and possessed extraordinary talent. Zhuo Fanyan, though merely the daughter of a merchant, also displayed a formidable talent in cultivation. Danxi, on the other hand, lacked both a distinguished family background and exceptional talent.
However, Ji Ruoxi and Zhuo Fanyan did not despise him. Instead, they found various martial arts secrets and rare treasures for him. Ji Ruoxi even taught Danxi all his martial arts skills except for the secret of Yunliang Qianchi.
However, the latter not only had no gratitude, but instead alienated the help of the two into charity.
As the gap between the three grew larger, Danxi's inferiority complex grew stronger.
Until one day, a turning point arrived. He stumbled into a cavern filled with withered bones, a truly terrifying sight. He endured his fear and continued forward, finding a manual containing a cultivation technique. It was none other than the Purple Frost Buddha Miasma. He was drawn to the powerful power described in the technique, and he gradually descended into the abyss.
At first, he still had some kindness in his heart, and simply stole a few corpses from the mass grave in the middle of the night and brought them to the river.
Gradually, he was bewitched by the power he had easily acquired, and his cultivation had already caught up with Ji Ruoxi. He only needed more corpses to surpass Ji Ruoxi.
Such voices kept echoing in his mind. Coincidentally, the moon was blood red that night. Under the illumination of the blood moon, he gradually lost his mind and eventually slaughtered an entire village.
Two hundred and eighty-three lives helped him successfully break through the threshold of the fifth level of the Linhai Realm, and his cultivation level has surpassed Ji Ruoxi.
Had he truly lost all reason? Actually, it wasn't the case. It was simply his almost pathological desire for power that made him attribute all his faults to his lost mind, allowing him to enjoy this power with a clear conscience.
But if you walk by the river often, you will get your feet wet. Ever since Danxi used this technique, the smell of blood on his body became stronger and stronger, and was quickly noticed by the perceptive Ji Ruoxi.
Although Ji Ruoxi's cultivation level is not as good as Danxi who has practiced the Purple Frost Buddha Miasma, the former can barely defeat Danxi with the help of the Cloud Hidden Technique.
Ji Ruoxi, mindful of their past friendship, let Danxi go. After all, he couldn't bear to kill his companion who had traveled with him for so long. But he didn't know that his softness today would become a nightmare for him in the future.
Zhuo Fanyan is as bright as the sun, and having been with them for a long time, both of them have a secret crush on her. And she also has a good impression of Ji Ruoxi, who is as gentle as jade and has extraordinary talent.
After realizing this, Danxi began to pursue power almost crazily. He believed that as long as his cultivation level surpassed Ji Ruoxi, Zhuo Fanyan would notice him and accept his pursuit.
But matters of the heart have nothing to do with cultivation.
A few years later, Ji Ruoxi and Zhuo Fanyan got married, and Zhuo Fanyan was pregnant with Ji Ruoxi's child.
When the two returned to Zhuo Fanyan's hometown to visit their family, they found the town awash in blood, corpses shrunken and covered in purple spots. This was the Purple Frost Buddha Miasma. The two thought of Danxi, but they refused to believe it. The child who had followed them around, affectionately calling them brother and sister, had truly become a murderous demon.
Zhuo Fanyan was extremely sad when she saw her relatives being killed, but a pregnant woman should not have such extreme mood swings, and she was about to give birth prematurely.
Ji Ruoxi didn't care about so many things at the moment. The nearby cities and villages were far away. On the way, they met a family with several children. The woman must have had experience in giving birth.
Ji Ruoxi picked up Zhuo Fanyan, who was crying and enduring the pain, and used her Qinggong to quickly move towards the house. Although she was holding the pregnant Zhuo Fanyan, Ji Ruoxi was still very fast and arrived at the house in less than half an incense stick of time.
The family heard the noise outside and quickly pushed open the door and came out. After Ji Ruoxi explained that Zhuo Fanyan was about to give birth prematurely, the woman enthusiastically agreed to help, and drove all the children out and asked them to prepare hot water.
Ji Ruoxi was waiting anxiously outside. She heard Zhuo Fanyan's screams of pain from inside. Ji Ruoxi wished she could bear such pain instead of her.
From noon to dusk, Zhuo Fanyan screamed continuously, and Ji Ruoxi paced back and forth outside, anxious. Coincidentally, at this moment, Ji Ruoxi saw a ghostly figure in a red robe in the distance, taking ten steps at a time and walking towards them.
Ji Ruoxi immediately recognized Danxi. In order to prevent him from affecting Zhuo Fanyan's production, Ji Ruoxi stepped on the tiptoes and blocked Danxi's way in the next moment.
Ji Ruoxi picked up the long sword at her waist—White Feather. Legend has it that this sword was wielded by Yunliang Qianchi's founder on the day he founded the sect. A divine bird several dozen feet long flew through the air, holding a long sword in its beak. The scabbard was made of white jade, and the blade measured three inches and two feet. Its jaws evoked the image of the sun and moon, its shape resembling a willow leaf.
Everyone hailed this as a miracle, and the sword was later revered by Yunliang Qianchi as the sect's treasure. Along with the Cloud Hiding Technique and the Treading Snow Without Leaks technique, it became the foundation of the sect.
This sword has been passed down from generation to generation by the head of the sect, but because Ji Ruoxi's master was not proficient in swordsmanship, he passed it directly to Ji Ruoxi.
"Look, your life is so smooth. You became a disciple of Yunliang Qianchi, a sect with a century-old tradition, and the person you like also has a secret crush on you. Now you even hold the White Feather Sword, which is ranked third on the weapons list and cannot be seen by others." Danxi, dressed in blood, lifted the cloak on his head, revealing his true face, and his tone was full of jealousy.
The moment Ji Ruoxi saw his face, she couldn't even recognize him. His once fair face was now covered with purple spots, which was unbearable to look at.
"Did you massacre the people in that city? Don't be stubborn anymore. There is still a chance to turn back." Ji Ruoxi persuaded.
"So what? Looking back? Ji Ruoxi, Master Ji, you are really naive. From the moment I set foot on this road, there was no turning back." Danxi's voice was hoarse and full of sarcasm.
Seeing that persuasion was of no use, Ji Ruoxi prepared to take action directly. If he had a choice, he would not want to fight with his former friend, but behind him now there was an innocent woman and her family, as well as Zhuo Fanyan and their unborn child.
Ji Ruoxi gathered his inner strength and prepared to strike. He drew his sword from its sheath, but before it touched Danxi, he was shaken away. This was the power of the Free and Easy Realm.
Ji Ruoxi couldn't believe it. In just three years, Danxi had already entered the realm of freedom. How much blood was stained on his hands? No wonder he said there was no turning back. He had committed such a heinous crime, and neither the martial arts world nor the imperial court would tolerate him.
It is a pity that the current emperor, Mu Shaoqi, is incompetent. If he were an ordinary emperor, he would have sent troops to eliminate Danxi long ago.
Ji Ruoxi gathered his strength again and tried to break through Danxi's defense. However, the gap in their cultivation levels was irreparable, and Ji Ruoxi was knocked down again.
Just like that, he would get up, then fall down again, over and over again. Until Danxi lost his patience and took out his long whip to drink blood. As the long whip sliced through the air, there was a sound, and Ji Ruoxi's bamboo green robe was stained red with blood.
Even though her body was covered with scars, Ji Ruoxi refused to let Danxi get close to the house.
Until the cry of a baby broke the silent argument. Ji Ruoxi was already exhausted at this time, but when he heard the baby's cry, his internal strength was re-condensed, and his blood and energy surged throughout his body, as if he was ready to die with Danxi.
But Danxi just glanced at him and said, "You let me go once last year, so I will let you go this time today." After that, he turned and left, until his figure gradually disappeared in the setting sun.
Ji Ruoxi then got up, brushed the dust off her hands, and walked towards the house, bewildered but with a happy face.
The woman originally wanted to take the child out to show Ji Ruoxi, but after noticing the fight outside, she hid behind the door and watched secretly.
Now seeing Ji Ruoxi coming back covered in blood, he realized that the enemy had left, so he went forward to greet him with the child in his arms.
Ji Ruoxi took the baby from her hands. Although she was a premature baby, the little girl was very healthy. The baby's eyes were still closed, but her little mouth was sucking back and forth, and she stuck out her tongue from time to time, which was very cute.
Ji Ruoxi held the child for a moment, her movements not very skillful, and then handed the child to the woman, and went in to see Zhuo Fanyan.
Zhuo Fanyan had already been exhausted from the grief of losing her loved ones, coupled with the hours of labor. Now she lay weakly in bed, her face pale.
Seeing Ji Ruoxi coming in, she forced herself to sit up and took Ji Ruoxi's hand. Ji Ruoxi held her hand tightly with her backhand. Zhuo Fanyan was almost out of breath and her voice was weak: "Ruoxi, have you seen our daughter? She is very cute, her nose and mouth look like you."
The bright moon has risen outside the window, and the white moonlight shines into the house through the window.
Zhuo Fanyan smiled and said, "Just call her Yue'er, and let her accompany you from now on. Meeting you in this life is the happiest thing in my life." After saying that, she was no longer able to breathe.
Ji Ruoxi watched her lover gradually lose his breath and remain motionless, like a walking corpse.
He didn't know how he walked out of the room. He held his lover's body in his hands, took their daughter from the woman, and walked towards Yunliang Qianchi.
Seeing that he was not in a good state, the woman tried to comfort him and advised him to set off tomorrow morning, but Ji Ruoxi acted as if he didn't hear her and just kept walking towards home.
He suddenly stopped, as if he had thought of something, and took out a bulging purse from his waist and handed it to the woman next to him, with the silver coins making a clattering sound. The woman quickly refused, but Ji Ruoxi put down the purse and continued to move forward, the speed that the woman could not catch up with.
In the end, Ji Ruoxi returned to Yunliang Qianchi with her lover's body and her newborn daughter. At that time, Gu Shiyan was only one year old.
No one knew what had happened. Seeing the corpse in Ji Ruoxi's hands and his distraught look, no one dared to ask.
He buried his beloved with his own hands and erected a tombstone for her, which read: "The Tomb of My Beloved Fan Yan". He handed his daughter to the elders and locked himself in the temple, where his hair turned white overnight.
Later, he often wondered if these things would not have happened if he had not let Danxi go, if he had not taken Zhuo Fanyan back home that day.
Until his master couldn't bear it anymore and brought Ji Yue to him, the baby's smiling face gradually brought him out of his self-isolation.
Yes, he couldn't just give up on himself like this. They still had a daughter to take care of, and he and Danxi still had hatred to settle.
After that day, he practiced harder and harder until he entered the realm of freedom and took over the burden of Yunliang Qianchi from his master. He turned his white hair black and tried hard to play the role of a good father.
Until the old sect leader passed away, he ordered the closure of Yunliang Qianchi. He had already decided to guard his wife's tombstone, raise his daughter and apprentice to adulthood, and then spend the rest of his life there.
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