Chapter 21: Immortals and Demons are Irreconcilable
The young man arrived late, still with that gentle face, wearing his ever-present gray Taoist robe, his lotus crown tightly bound, meticulous in every detail.
He was carrying a glass lamp in his hand, and upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a lotus-shaped lamp.
The wick glowed with a faint, firefly-like light, unlike anything found in the mundane world.
Yao Jin looked at the lamp and subconsciously took a step back.
Meng Ji stepped forward and extended his porcelain-white hand: "Madam, it's almost our turn."
These words were a death knell for Yao Jin, and that outstretched hand was the alarm bell for his demise.
Yao Jin immediately turned her body away, "Don't come any closer!"
To do something well, you must first have the right tools. In the classroom, we simulated all the steps of the competition and the possible unexpected events.
But there was no step in the way that taught Yao Jin how to deal with the current situation.
She could only back away while drinking, saying, "Don't come any closer."
Yao Jin was relieved that she was wearing a wide-sleeved dress today, the sleeves of which could cover her strangely long fingernails.
Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to explain this situation...
Upon hearing this, Meng Ji lowered his eyes slightly, his gaze seemingly casually sweeping over the long, wide sleeves.
The cuffs were made of gauze, which, for a cultivator, didn't actually cover much.
The gauze was so thin that when it caught the wind, it turned into a wisp of smoke, as if it could be blown away with a single breath.
He thought he might understand why Dong Yong had so despicably hidden the fairy's colorful clothes.
Once an absurd idea arises, it's like a weed that can take root with just a breath of air.
He stopped as instructed and did not go any further. "Okay."
The crisis of being discovered was temporarily averted, but suddenly a cheer like the sound of waves erupted around them—"We won!"
The cultivators on the platform were also interpreting the results—"The Phoenix Clan has won this round."
The voice, imbued with spiritual power, filled my ears, traveled far and wide, crashed into the valley, and echoed through the heavens and earth.
The voice was solemn, devoid of emotion.
But what followed was the cheers of the victors, and those restless, jubilant emotions instantly filled the entire cliff.
But those defeated, dark, and shameful thoughts were also slowly fermenting.
These emotions, buried deep within her heart, transformed into streams of nourishment, silently flying towards Yao Jin and nourishing her.
Yao Jin was horrified to discover that her fingernails had grown longer, reaching up to the wide hem of her sleeve, with several sharp, bamboo shoot-like things sprouting out.
But that's not bamboo shoots; bamboo shoots wouldn't have this color!
In an instant, the lotus lantern's glow transformed from fireflies to starlight, and its petals seemed ready to flutter.
Suddenly, a cold voice rang out—"This lamp..."
“This lamp has been having some problems lately. I’ll take it out and test it today for the competition.” Meng Ji calmly closed the lotus lamp.
The man persisted, as if determined to get to the bottom of it, "What's wrong with it?"
"Besides stabilizing the soul, the lotus lantern will also open its petals when encountering demons, serving as a warning and a means to subdue them."
"This is a secret treasure of Buzhou Mountain, and it has never had any problems in the past hundred years."
"Could it be..."
"It's your wife," Meng Ji said calmly. He put the lotus lamp into his storage container and looked at the newcomer. "Gongye, what's going on? As a former Buddhist cultivator, don't you know about her husband?"
Gongye is Xuanshuang's wife, but she is also a demon.
It's just that the demon-repelling pills developed by Chu Fengliu make him look no different from an ordinary person.
But that's only what it looks like.
A century has passed since this incident, and Xuan Shuang has paid the price, being expelled from Buddhism.
Xuan Shuang thought he had misheard, but the surprised or horrified looks in the eyes of the cultivators around him made him realize that he had not misheard.
Xuan Shuang could only lower his head and comfort himself—it's alright, it's alright. He had already left the Buddhist order and would not live on Buzhou Mountain in the future, so he wouldn't cause his wife to live under the strange gaze of others every day.
As a nun, Xuan Shuang was best able to comfort herself.
Moreover, he knew Meng Ji's character; Meng Ji had even told him about the secret treasure of Buzhou Mountain, which meant he must consider him a close friend who had been through thick and thin with him.
His friend simply didn't understand the intricacies of the situation and lamented that he was expelled from Buddhism after becoming its first disciple.
She loathed it, loathed the identity of a demon, which is why she spoke those words as if no one else was around.
Xuan Shuang pondered for a moment, and only after her emotions had calmed down did she raise her head again.
But just as his gaze swept over the crowd, he spotted a familiar figure.
"Witch!" Xuan Shuang shouted immediately.
The Nine-Ringed Mystic Staff was immediately activated in his hand, the rings jingled, and nine beams of Buddhist light shot out from the sky, as if a god had descended.
Amidst the rapid ringing of bells, Xuan Shuang exuded an aura of majesty and power.
He conjured a Dharma image, which was in the shape of an Arhat, about twelve feet tall. As soon as it appeared, it made a hand seal in an attack stance, "You demon..."
"I haven't introduced you yet, this is my wife." Meng Ji casually stepped forward and stood in front of his wife.
With a mere flick of his fingertips, he interrupted the Dharma Image's attack.
The Buddha's light was forcibly intercepted, and the Arhat's image immediately shrank back to its original form. Xuan Shuang clutched her chest and vomited a pool of blood. "Is this your wife?"
Blood splattered on the ground emitted a golden, shimmering light.
Xuan Shuang couldn't believe it, "I don't believe you can't recognize her..."
“This is my wife,” Meng Ji repeated, the timing of his interruption still perfectly timed.
Upon hearing this, Xuan Shuang pondered deeply, her brows furrowing, and she remained silent.
They've already started fighting?
The golden cypress in the distance was stunned by the scene.
She looked at the pool of blood, felt uncomfortable and disgusted, and moved away in disgust.
Just then, an elderly man was walking towards them.
Several young cultivators followed behind the old man, all holding swords and looking extremely serious.
As the old man approached, he spoke first, "I've heard there are demons here, so I've come to take a look."
Although he said he was just looking, Elder Mu's sword was already emitting a cold white sword intent, and the surroundings were filled with intense killing intent.
This murderous intent pointed straight to the heavens.
The north wind howled, rustling through the Taoist robes, and lightning gathered in the sky above.
The clear blue sky was instantly shrouded in dark clouds, burying everyone's faces in shadow.
Suddenly, a raindrop fell.
Two drops, three drops.
Then came a dense barrage of raindrops, which stung painfully as they pelted my skin.
Yao Jin immediately took a few steps back in alarm, her hands tucked into her wide sleeves, trembling slightly.
“That’s the woman.” The cultivator behind Elder Mu pointed to Gongye. “This disciple heard it clearly just now.”
Elder Mu's gaze was fixed on Gongye. He flicked his wrist, drawing lightning into the sword in his hand. "You demon, prepare to die."
Xuan Shuang immediately stepped forward to protect Gongye. The two were talking about something, and after a while, Elder Mu's expression changed from cold to surprised.
Yao Jin frowned and listened intently, but he was too far away to hear clearly.
The rain around them gradually intensified, drizzling down like handfuls of water being poured onto the ground.
White steam rose from the ground, blurring the surrounding view.
Suddenly, a shadow enveloped her.
Yao Jin looked up and saw a red bamboo umbrella with thirty-two ribs, and the person holding the umbrella only showed a section of slender fingers, which emitted a soft porcelain white light.
But who else could it be but Meng Ji with that majestic, mountain-like appearance between his brows and eyes?
In that short time, the rain subsided. Meng Ji lowered his eyes and his gaze lingered on the lady's head for a moment. "Madam, it's almost our turn. Come with me to the back room to prepare."
“But…” Yao Jin subconsciously followed Meng Ji, but then realized that she had forgotten something.
After walking a few steps, Yao Jin couldn't help but look at the umbrella. "Where did this umbrella come from? I didn't see you take it out last time I went back."
The immortal realm does not distinguish between the four seasons, and it rarely rains.
Even if it rains a few times, it's nothing to a cultivator who knows the Water Avoidance Technique.
Meng Ji knew this was a question about why he hadn't taken out the umbrella when the two of them returned from the Demon-Slaying Platform last time. "I made it after that day."
The crystal-clear beads were scattered like twinkling stars, and each bead was strikingly similar, its brilliance undiminished even on this gloomy, rainy day.
But no two leaves are exactly alike, nor are any beads.
One can almost imagine the scene of these beads being selected one by one and strung together little by little.
Her heart skipped a beat, and in her panic, she used her hand as a palm to gently fan her face, saying, "Who strings beads on an umbrella? Aren't they afraid of being laughed at?"
Meng Ji: "It's alright, no one dares to laugh at my wife."
"You really are..." Although the words were inevitably a bit arrogant, Yao Jin liked the answer very much.
Perhaps it was the torrential rain, perhaps the howling wind, or perhaps the two were simply too close.
In short, her heart was pounding in the raging rain.
Yao Jin didn't know how to ease her feelings. She looked at the umbrella for a while, then at the ground. After a while, she finally found her voice, "You're so amazing, you can even do this."
She couldn't help but look at the umbrella again, her almond-shaped eyes shining brightly as if they had been washed with water.
At that moment, Yao Jin really liked the umbrella. She couldn't explain why, but she liked it very much, even more than she liked the stars in the sky. "This umbrella is mine now."
She wanted to place it in the Wugou Pavilion so she could see it every time she opened her eyes.
Meng Ji: "It was originally yours, but I usually keep it with me."
"Um?"
Meng Ji looked at the lady's shoulder, where there was a wet patch from the rain, and tilted the umbrella slightly.
Once his wife was no longer bothered by the rain, he spoke, “These beads are the tears of the Jiao people. Each bead weighs twenty pounds and three thousand six hundred grams. There are a total of one hundred and eight beads on the umbrella. You will find them too heavy to carry.”
The lady is delicate; even holding the round fan she uses to match her clothes for too long will make her hand ache.
Yao Jin was taken aback upon hearing this, but quickly abandoned her previous idea. She reached out to touch the bead, "Alright, then you can keep it. We're usually together anyway..."
Halfway through his sentence, Yao Jin abruptly lowered his raised hand, his mind screaming, "Damn it, why aren't you taking those fingernails back?!"
Small print: [Whether I can take it back or not depends entirely on you.]
Yao Jin was instantly enraged. She looked at the young Daoist beside her, gritted her teeth, and said, "I understand. I will go and find out what happened at the Frostflower Sword."
Actually, even the small character was afraid, but it finally found the point that Yao Jin was afraid of, so it didn't immediately take it back.
Now that it had received the promise, Little Word knew when to stop and used its energy to retract its nails and the small horns on its head.
The nails grew quickly and disappeared just as fast. Yao Jin pinched the nails in his palm and, after confirming that they had returned to their original shape, he continued to reach out and touch the luster of the beads.
At this point, Yao Jin was in the mood to inquire, "What were you just talking about? Who is that woman?"
Meng Ji lowered the umbrella a little to make it easier for his wife to reach it. "It's nothing. Xuan Shuang just brought his wife to greet me. The woman next to her is his wife, named Gongye."
Yao Jin had a strong impression of the bald man and naturally recognized him as Xuan Shuang, but she had never met his wife before.
Yao Jin turned around and glanced at the woman. Their eyes met, and for some reason, Yao Jin felt a little guilty.
She quickly turned her head back to look at Meng Ji beside her, "Why are so many people surrounding her? And trying to kill... her?"
Meng Ji paused, glanced at the top of the lady's head, and after a moment said slowly, "She is a demon, and immortals and demons are irreconcilable enemies."
This is not intimidation, but the truth.
Cultivators consider it their duty to eliminate demons and protect the righteous path; this is a belief ingrained in their very bones.
But when these words were spoken so calmly, Yao Jin couldn't help but flinch. Her heart stopped, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over boiling soup.
Yao Jin felt a dull ache in her heart, like being stung by a wasp. "And what about you?"
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