Why is the Seven Saints Hall in such a state of turmoil? (Chapter 56)
(56)
"Come in."
Shang Xinglan tossed him a handkerchief to wipe his face and said helplessly, "From now on, you are not allowed to do anything inappropriate to A-Chu, otherwise I will never let you go even if I die and become a ghost."
It wasn't surprising that Ah Chu would be liked, but what surprised him was that Gu Ye, that scoundrel, would actually be interested in love. He thought Gu Ye only knew how to eat, drink, have fun, and kill.
Gu Ye took the handkerchief, wiped the dust off his face, first looked up at Shang Xinglan, then at Chu Li beside him. His face had returned to normal; it seemed that as long as he didn't fall in love, he would still have the same face.
His master was too lenient with him. If it were him, he would have killed him to eliminate any future trouble and prevent the other party from trying to take him back.
Isn't it great that the three of them are together? He'll even build them houses, fetch water, and help them farm in the future. He'll also take care of the children.
He'll break this broken spell sooner or later. When he meets Yan Xinbai, that man is an expert in demonic incantations and spells, he'll definitely have a way.
"Master, where is Yan Xinbai?"
Gu Ye followed them into the hall and asked casually, "He didn't come back with you?"
After speaking, Shang Xinglan pondered for a moment and looked at Chu Li, "You talk to him." He himself was not clear about the details of the matter. At that time, he was so angry with Chu Li that he had no mind to ask about such things.
Upon hearing Yan Xinbai's name, Chu Li's face immediately darkened. After a moment of hesitation, she said in a low voice, "I told him I would help you retrieve the immortal bones, but after hearing that, his expression suddenly changed. He destroyed the immortal bones right in front of me. I tried my best to stop him, but he beat me so badly that I was covered in bruises! He also said that he would never follow you again, that you were a useless master, and that he would kill us all, leaving us not even a complete corpse..."
"Don't embellish it."
“Oh…he destroyed the immortal bone, I slapped him, he slapped me, and then he left.”
Shang Xinglan was slightly stunned for a moment, then cupped her face in her hands, "He really hit you?"
Chu Li nodded nonchalantly, then continued, "It's a pity that the immortal bones turned to ashes, otherwise you would definitely have been able to ascend. It's all that madman's fault, he suddenly took some wrong medicine..."
She was used to being beaten since she was a child. In Chu Li's opinion, it was no big deal that she and Yan Xinbai slapped each other. In fact, she was stronger and left five marks on his face even though she had no cultivation. So she considered herself the winner.
Shang Xinglan frowned as she looked at her, her eyes growing darker.
Gu Ye leaned casually against the pillar and said lazily, "What immortal bones, what ascension, I don't understand."
In order to create another enemy for Yan Xinbai, Chu Li enthusiastically explained to Gu Ye, "Your master originally had a celestial bone. With that celestial bone, he could ascend to heaven and escape the curse and live. Previously, that celestial bone was taken away by someone. I went to help him get it back, but Yan Xinbai snatched it and destroyed it first. He is a traitor!"
Upon hearing this, Gu Ye yawned and said listlessly, "Is that so? I've always thought he looked like a traitor."
He didn't care who his master was in the past; he only knew that his master had saved him and his adoptive father. He didn't care why Yan Xinbai would oppose his master; if his master wanted to kill him, so be it.
As brothers, he could let Yan Xinbai die a quick death, and it would be even better if Yan Xinbai could lift the spell on him before he died.
Shang Xinglan glanced at him. This bastard still had the nerve to talk about Yan Xinbai. He was just as bad as the pot calling the kettle black.
“I promised to accompany him to find a way for demon cultivators to achieve enlightenment and ascend to immortality, but I was delayed for a long time because of the curse on my body. Now that I am about to ascend, I can no longer fulfill my promise.” Shang Xinglan lowered her eyes and gently tucked a strand of hair behind Chu Li’s ear. “That’s probably why. He thinks I’ve broken my promise.”
But how could he lay a hand on Achu? Achu was thin and pitiful, and had no cultivation. How could she withstand a single blow from him?
No matter how deep the resentment, she could vent it on him alone. A-Chu did nothing wrong. It was Yan Xinbai who destroyed her immortal bones first. It was only natural for her to be angry. Why should he hit her?
Chu Li said seriously, "Don't defend him. I think he's been wanting to kill you and take your place for a long time. Otherwise, why would he want to harm you at this crucial moment? You can't be soft-hearted anymore, or what if he harms you again in the future?"
Shang Xinglan chuckled. He was thinking about A Chu, but A Chu's mind was full of thoughts about him.
"Gu Ye, burn the message talisman to him."
If Yan Xinbai is still willing to come and talk things out with him face to face, it would be best to settle this matter with a fight.
If you refuse to come, we may never have another chance to meet.
Gu Ye responded and got down, took out a talisman from his pocket and lit it with demonic fire. After a long time, he received no response.
He exchanged a glance with Shang Xinglan, then took out another talisman and lit it.
"He's not coming."
Shang Xinglan was silent for a moment, then took Chu Li's hand and said in a low voice, "He will come looking for me sooner or later. Don't worry about him. Let's go back."
Those who have fallen into demonic possession are different from ordinary people; the stronger their demonic energy, the colder their hearts. He knew Yan Xinbai's temperament; unlike Gu Ye, Yan Xinbai had no interest in worldly emotions whatsoever.
Demon cultivators like Gu Ye, who were born with demonic energy and raised by human foster fathers, are extremely rare.
He understands emotions because of his adoptive father's teachings. However, those emotions are only for specific people; unless Gu Ye approves of the other person, he will never easily give them his trust.
In this respect, Gu Ye is very similar to Chu Li. They both grew up in hardship, which is why they are wary of everyone's ill intentions.
While he was still in the womb, his mother was attacked by a demon. She used some kind of magic, and the demonic energy contaminated the fetus in her womb, making Gu Ye a little demon from birth.
His parents hated him because he was corrupted by demonic energy, so they threw him into the sheepfold, chained him up like a wild dog, and raised him like livestock, constantly beating and scolding him.
Gu Ye's adoptive father was just their neighbor at the time, an elderly man who often brought Gu Ye food, which is how Gu Ye survived.
Gu Ye longed for his parents' love. He was just a child who didn't understand anything and didn't know why his parents treated him this way. He always hid to avoid being beaten, and his demonic energy never erupted.
Until one year, some cultivators came to their neighborhood. When their parents heard that cultivators could exorcise demons, they brought the cultivators to their home, hoping to get rid of this little devil.
Those cultivators had no real skills; they were just posing as cultivators from a sect to scam food and drink. When they saw Gu Ye chained up, they thought he posed no threat and stabbed him until he bled profusely.
Gu Ye was in excruciating pain and begged his parents to stop them, desperately apologizing, but nothing he said worked.
In his parents' eyes, he was never their child, but a monster who was worse than an animal.
Just as he was about to lose his breath, an elderly neighbor found out and rushed into his house to save him, using his life savings to buy Gu Ye's life.
He took Gu Ye away from that place of sorrow, treated Gu Ye's injuries, fed him, and raised him little by little.
Knowing he couldn't stay with him forever, the old man decided to take him to the Demon Realm so he could stay with the other demons and at least not worry about Gu Ye being killed by the cultivators one day.
They arrived in the Demon Realm, where Gu Ye became a doorman in a gambling den, while the old man contracted a serious illness.
He had no money to buy medicine for the old man, so he led the old man to kneel in front of the gambling den, saying that he was willing to follow anyone who was willing to pay to save the old man's life and serve them like a slave for the rest of his life.
Just then, Shang Xinglan and Yan Xinbai passed by. He gave them some money, which cured his adoptive father's illness. From then on, Gu Ye followed him around.
Looking back now, it's no wonder that when he first saw Gu Ye, he instinctively wanted to help him. His eyes were so similar to A Chu's, and even the way he took the money and ran away without hesitation was exactly the same.
As for Yan Xinbai, perhaps the past five years of knowing each other meant nothing to him.
He actually hit Ah Chu! He had never treated her like this before. It's unforgivable.
*
Merchants.
As soon as Shang Jinyue saw them, she couldn't wait to come up to them and piled the storybooks on the table. "You're finally back. I could hardly keep it from my nephew anymore. I had to read him three storybooks to coax him out of it."
"You... are you alright?" Chu Li stared at him in astonishment. After a moment, her gaze shifted to Shang Xinglan, who was coughing softly beside her, and she immediately understood what had happened.
She narrowed her eyes and pinched Shang Xinglan's arm.
"We young people recover quickly. I took a pill and I'm fine now," Shang Jinyue said without batting an eye, as if it were a prepared statement.
Chu Li no longer believed him. She glared at him and walked past Shang Jinyue to find Yinyin.
The little boy sat obediently at the small table in the front hall, eating snacks and reading a storybook.
"Mommy, you're back!" The little boy stuffed the snack into his mouth and, as usual, came forward to take her hand, completely unaware of what had happened.
Seeing his innocent little face, Chu Li felt as if she had flown down from the clouds and landed on solid ground. As long as Yin Yin and Shang Xinglan were there, her family was still whole.
When Shang Jinyue heard that they had reconciled, he had an expression that said he had expected it. He didn't listen to Chu Li's advice to go to the Cangshan Sect to find Chu Shuyi at all. Going there would only make things more complicated. He knew his brother's temper. Once he made up his mind about someone, he wouldn't change it.
"In that case, you need to intensify your cultivation." Shang Jinyue said in a low voice, "I heard from my sister-in-law that you only have half a month left to live, time is too tight."
Shang Xinglan nodded slightly. He knew he couldn't delay, but when he saw Chu Li and Yin Yin, he couldn't help but want to stay by their side a little longer.
If it fails, we'll never see it again.
“Never mind,” he sighed softly, “Let’s go to the Hall of Seven Saints.”
Upon hearing this, Shang Jinyue's eyes lit up. "You've decided to ascend to immortality in the Shang family? I... I'll go prepare right away."
Before long, Chu Li, holding the cub's hand, followed behind Shang Jinyue. As they wandered through the corridors, she felt increasingly unfamiliar with the road ahead, as if she had never been here before.
"The Seven Saints Hall is the ancestral hall of the Shang family and also the place where immortals of past generations attained enlightenment. Once inside, you must not make loud noises or wander around at will." Shang Jinyue led them in while glancing at Gu Ye intentionally or unintentionally.
Holding Yinyin's little hand, Chu Li looked around at the rumored Shang family ancestral hall, but she had no recollection of the name Seven Saints Hall at all.
After Shang Xinglan and Chu Li stepped over the threshold, Shang Jinyue suddenly stopped and blocked Gu Ye at the back, saying, "You can't come in."
Gu Ye raised an eyebrow. "Why can't I go in?"
"You dare ask why, you fiend?" Shang Jinyue sneered, her fingertips already on the sword at her waist. "If it weren't for my brother's sake, I would have killed you with one strike long ago."
Gu Ye smiled instead of getting angry, and said casually, "You don't have the right to say it. Only the master has the right to order me around."
What kind of thing dares to challenge him?
Hearing the voice behind her, Chu Li turned around and saw that they were at an impasse. She called out, "Gu Ye, you can wait outside."
Upon hearing this, Gu Ye raised his head and replied with a smile, "Yes, sir."
Shang Jinyue: "?"
He looked at Gu Ye suspiciously, sensing something was amiss. "Don't you only obey your brother's orders?"
Gu Ye leaned against the door, too lazy to even lift his eyelids to look at him, "What's it to you?"
The three of them... including that little brat, they are a family of four, and it's none of the business for outsiders to gossip.
Shang Jinyue had no idea what he was thinking. She just thought he was crazy. All demonic cultivators were so self-centered and obsessive. She really didn't know why her brother would bring a demonic cultivator back.
He stood guard outside the ancestral hall with a dark expression, determined to never let Gu Ye step into the hall, even if it meant his death.
It's more like an ordinary meditation room than an ancestral hall, only it's a bit too big, almost as big as a palace.
However, it wasn't as luxurious and grand as Chu Li had imagined. Instead, it felt rather simple, with many things old and worn, covered in cobwebs and dust. In the center of the ancestral hall, there was an octagonal gap in the roof, letting in the sky and sunlight. Directly opposite that gap was a pool of cold water.
Chu Li looked away, frowned, and covered her nose, still choking on the dust in the air. "Why hasn't anyone come to clean?"
Shang Xinglan stood quietly by the table, picked up an old book with yellowed pages that was open, and with a touch, the pages quickly crumbled like withered leaves.
"Apart from those who have ascended to heaven and the women of the Heavenly Yin, no one else may enter the Seven Saints Hall."
Even they can only come here to cultivate diligently in the days leading up to their ascension.
From this day forward, he must abstain from food and sleep, shut down his five senses, and cultivate in the Seven Saints Hall like a sculpture that only absorbs spiritual energy.
With Gu Ye and A Yue protecting him, he had nothing to worry about.
Now, after twenty-five years of cultivation, he is finally about to face the final test, and he should be happy.
Why am I so confused and disoriented?
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