Chapter 87 Qiong Rao "I once had a question, but Master never answered it. ...
Xie Wuyang once stayed for the Nightmare Stone, but later his obsession faded with his hatred, and what Xie Wuyang wanted in his heart also became vague.
Looking at Yun Wanzhou's calm and composed face, Xie Wuyang knew that the reason he didn't want to leave had nothing to do with the Nightmare Stone.
"Master," Xie Wuyang said, his throat bitter as he tried his best to keep his voice calm, "I once asked a question, but Master never answered it."
Yun Wanzhou didn't seem to mind the sudden change of topic. "Why?"
"Since Master knew my identity from the beginning, why did he bother to accept me as his disciple?"
Xie Wuyang wanted to know, if from the very beginning, Yun Wanzhou had met not the original body, but Xie Wuyang five hundred years later, would he still act like this?
Maybe he just wanted someone to tell him that the cause and effect of his life and death were not his fault.
It was just fate that made me unlucky and I never met a Yun Wanzhou when I was young.
Yun Wanzhou moved the fingertips on his knees, and suddenly looked outside the house, his eyes flickering slightly, as if he was remembering something from the past.
"Do you know how Qiongrao passed away?" Yun Wanzhou suddenly asked.
The Immortal Venerable Qiongrao, Yun Wanzhou's master.
Xie Wuyang had seen him once in a dream. He was a handsome and elegant man with an ethereal appearance. Judging from his appearance alone, he must have been admired by many female cultivators during his lifetime.
Not to mention his heroic deeds and fame at a young age.
Such a remarkable figure, his life story was recorded in ancient books five hundred years later. As for how he died, it was concluded with just one sentence:
"In the 367th year of Suihe, I fought a demonic beast east of the Suining River and was severely injured. Afterwards, my spiritual power was completely dissipated, and I was unable to recover. I died on Cangqiong Mountain."
All the records come from the population, and the ancient books have been passed down for a long time, so it is impossible to tell the truth from the false.
Xie Wuyang was not entirely sure how the Immortal Venerable Qiongrao had left, so he shook his head and said, "I know very little about Master's affairs, so I dare not speculate."
Yun Wanzhou pursed his lips and fixed his gaze on Xie Wuyang.
"He's become possessed." he said.
Xie Wuyang was shocked and looked surprised.
It is not uncommon for people to become immortals and then turn to the devil path in the world of cultivation.
However, many of these people are evil and have bad intentions, or they are against the will of heaven.
How could the Immortal Venerable Qiongrao...
Yun Wanzhou was recounting his past to someone for the first time. He felt awkward at first, but after he started, it became much easier. "Before Fuguang Divine Venerable ascended to heaven, he entrusted the Nightmare Stone to Cangqiong Mountain for safekeeping. As an Immortal Venerable, Qiongrao has devoted all his energy to it since he ascended to the throne. Later, there was a time when monsters were rampant at the foot of the mountain. Most of the disciples on the mountain went down to rescue people, but accidentally let someone with ulterior motives sneak in. Thanks to Qiongrao's timely arrival, disaster was averted. From this incident, Qiongrao knew that everything has its limits..."
Qiong Rao knew that he could not watch the nightmare stone all the time, and fearing that any negligence would cause trouble, he began to study alternative methods every day to be on the safe side.
Qiongrao's door was closed for several days, and finally opened from the inside one day.
Everyone is vying for the Nightmare Stone, hoping to rely on its power to reach the pinnacle of human existence.
But there are also countless time artifacts. Although they are not as good as the Nightmare Stone, they are enough to dominate a region. No one fights for them except because they don’t know the whereabouts of the artifacts, because the artifacts are spiritual artifacts and can only recognize one owner.
After much deliberation, Qiongrao suddenly came up with a risky idea.
If the nightmare stone could recognize its master, a wise master, wouldn't that be a foolproof plan?
At that time, Qiong Rao was arrogant and looked down on everyone, including his fellow junior brother, the then leader of Cang Qiong, whom he did not fully trust.
Even though this decision was strongly opposed by other elders, Qiong Rao still chose to go his own way.
Seal the Nightmare Stone in the sea of consciousness, and over time, it will become one with you.
When Ruyun Wanzhou was in his dream not long ago, Xie Wuyang vaguely guessed that Qiongrao's inner demon entering his body was related to the Nightmare Stone.
Even now, hearing Yun Wanzhou’s own story, I am still shocked.
"Is it because... the Nightmare Stone bewitched Immortal Venerable Qiongrao that he developed a demonic inner demon?"
"Yes." Yun Wanzhou looked at Xie Wuyang with a strange look in his eyes, paused and shook his head, "But not entirely."
Qiong Rao kept the fact that he sealed the Nightmare Stone in his body extremely secret, and no one knew about it except the head of Cang Qiong and two trusted elders.
So far, they have lived in peace for several years.
But how can people with ulterior motives give up their desire for the Nightmare Stone so easily?
After several unsuccessful attempts to sneak into the forbidden area of the sky, someone finally discovered a clue.
Yun Wanzhou vaguely remembered that it was a rainy night with thunder and lightning.
The candlelight flickered, casting a hideous shadow.
Eleven-year-old Yun Xiaowu's eyes were as big as copper bells, and he huddled at the foot of the bed, trembling.
He was afraid of the dark and thunder, so normally at this time he would have come uninvited, clutching his quilt, lying on the dome-shaped bed, throwing a tantrum and begging his master to take him in.
But this time was different. Just yesterday, he started a cold war with his master.
The reason was the same as before. Qiong Rao was going down the mountain to eliminate the monster. Yun Xiaowu wanted to go with him, but Qiong Rao refused him on the grounds that "it was too dangerous to go there".
Yun Xiaowu was incredibly stubborn. The more others thought he couldn't do it, the more he wanted to prove himself. He immediately retorted, "I'm already in the middle stage of Foundation Establishment. Even if I can't kill the monster, any damage I can do is better than doing nothing."
Qiong Rao was particularly resolute this time and shook his head to refuse, "Exorcising the demon this time is not as simple as you think."
"Kill the evil demon, then seal it. How difficult is that?"
Qiong Rao sighed, "You have too strong a murderous intent."
"Shouldn't they be killed?" Yun Xiaowu's face darkened. "Or does Master want to save them? Killing someone means paying with one's life. I don't think they will mend their ways."
"When will the cycle of revenge end?" Qiongrao stopped arguing with him.
The conversation came to an abrupt end, but Yun Wanzhou still felt uneasy.
Under the double pressure of being rejected and having his ideas contradicted, Yun Wanzhou returned to the room with a stern face.
Early the next morning, he ran to the canteen and took away the two plum blossom cakes that the disciple who was serving food had specially left for Qiongrao. He sat on the steps outside the canteen and stuffed his mouth with snacks.
Boring.
Yun Xiaowu swallowed the snack in his mouth with difficulty, completely unable to understand why Qiong Rao liked plum blossom cakes so much.
But when he thought of Qiongrao's gloomy face when he discovered that the snacks had been stolen shortly afterwards, Yun Xiaowu suddenly felt relieved, and even the dark sky looked pleasing to the eye.
He had already calculated that if Qiongrao admitted his mistake immediately and agreed to his request to go down the mountain three days later, he would reluctantly forgive him and then reluctantly go to the Li family shop at the foot of the mountain to buy a bag full of plum cakes as compensation for Qiongrao.
What Yun Xiaowu didn't expect was that he waited from morning to evening, from the breeze to the heavy rain, but he never waited for Qiongrao to change his mind.
Thinking of the slightly surprised look that Qiongrao gave him at the last moment, Yun Xiaowu couldn't help but start to reflect on whether he had gone too far yesterday. Qiongrao just didn't want him to take any risks, but he took advantage of her favor to satisfy his little vanity.
Thinking of this, Yun Xiaowu sniffed and loosened his hands that were hugging his knees.
Wait another half an hour. If Qiongrao still doesn't come to find him, he can just bow his head and go to his master to apologize.
It's no big deal.
After coming to terms with this, Yun Xiaowu suddenly felt much happier.
The shadows of the trees outside the house were swaying, and there was a rustling sound coming from somewhere, perhaps a wild cat passing by.
A flash of lightning streaked across the night sky, illuminating the scene outside the house.
Yun Xiaowu's eyes were so nervous that he didn't know where to look. He was thinking of how to ask for peace to divert attention when he suddenly caught a glimpse of a figure passing by the window.
Thunder roared down, Yun Xiaowu's palms tightened, his eyes suddenly sharp, "Who?"
The only response he got was a few meows.
There are many barriers in Cang Qiong Mountain. Generally speaking, only the inner disciples of Cang Qiong Mountain can enter and exit freely.
What’s more, it is the residence of the Immortal Venerable Qiongrao.
Yun Xiaowu's first reaction was that it was a senior brother who came for something.
But Qiongrao has always had the habit of setting up barriers and meditating. The only ones who can enter and exit freely are the leader of Cangqiong and several disciples sitting under Qiongrao.
If there is anything, he should be the one to pass it on.
Yun Xiaowu put on his shoes and boots and opened the door a crack.
There was a violent storm outside, and everything was dark and gloomy.
Yun Xiaowu narrowed his eyes and observed his surroundings with great effort. When he found nothing unusual and was about to close the door and go into the house, he suddenly caught a glimpse of the blurry figure that flashed by outside the Qiongrao house.
"Master..." Yun Xiaowu rubbed his eyes and walked forward slowly, slipping on his boots. "If you want to make peace, there's no need to be so sneaky. I've just thought about it carefully and found that I have done many things wrong. When I go down the mountain with you, I am willing to spend all my money to buy you many plum blossoms..."
The shadow ignored him and walked in, then the door closed.
Yun Xiaowu sensed something was amiss and asked in a more tentative tone, "Master?"
Not getting an answer, Yun Xiaowu quickened his pace. Just as his hands touched the closed door, Qiongrao's voice came from inside the room, "Xiaowu?"
"Master?" Yun Xiaowu felt relieved, but he still knocked on the door. "Disciple has something to say to Master. Is it convenient for you?"
The room was silent for a moment, and after a while, Qiong Rao's voice came: "If it's about going down the mountain, there's no need to ask."
Yun Xiaowu choked in his throat and almost swallowed back his apology.
"That's not the case..." Yun Xiaowu said awkwardly, "I'm here to admit my mistake."
Qiong Rao didn't say anything, and Yun Xiaowu became nervous after realizing it.
He and Qiongrao had quarreled with each other frequently. Qiongrao spoiled him and usually collected small toys from everywhere to coax him, and never held a grudge.
This was the first time I had been angry with him for so long.
Is it because I stole his plum blossom cake this morning?
Yun Xiaowu felt the need to express his apology, and spoke carefully: "Disciple helped Master taste the snacks made by the disciples in the kitchen today, and they were very unpalatable. Disciple thinks they should be punished a little! In addition... In addition..."
Yun Xiaowu rolled his eyes. He was about to say he would buy Qiongrao a bag of plum blossom cakes, but then he thought of his own shriveled and shabby purse and changed his mind. "Next time I go down the mountain, I will buy you five plum blossom cakes as compensation. What do you think?"
"Of course it's excellent."
I don’t know if it was Yun Xiaowu’s illusion, but there were a few suppressed groans mixed in with Qiongrao’s words.
Thinking of the black shadow that disappeared, Yun Xiaowu felt a little uneasy. "Disciple just saw someone enter Master's room. I wonder if it was Master?"
A strong wind suddenly arose behind him, drowning out Yun Xiaowu's words.
Yun Xiaowu leaned over the door and listened.
There was a sharp sound from inside the house, like a knife cutting through wood.
Yun Xiaowu frowned and thought, hesitating whether to push the door open or not. His eyes dropped and he suddenly caught a glimpse of a wisp of black air that had been wrapped around his fingertips at some point in time.
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