Chapter 56 My Junior Brother's Happy Life (XIV) My Junior Brother, Here I Come...
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Song Ce slowly emitted a strange crimson-gold light. After the final heavenly tribulation struck down fiercely, the person at the center of the tribulation's power began to rise steadily.
That overwhelming aura spread out like a surging tide, instantly enveloping the entire Zizai Peak. Under the powerful pressure of Song Ce's cultivation, all the cultivators who came to Qingyun Sect were uncontrollably pressed to the ground.
This unprecedented spiritual pressure completely shattered the last shred of hope that Song Ce had failed to advance.
Yu Songgan and Qing Sui, being sect leaders, reacted swiftly, immediately joining forces to construct a spiritual energy barrier using magical artifacts. Just as the cultivators breathed a sigh of relief, a clear, melodious male voice rang out: "Break!"
Under the watchful eyes of all the cultivators, the spiritual energy barrier that You Songgan and Qing Sui had jointly set up suddenly cracked open at its top. The crack spread like a spider web, and then the barrier slowly collapsed and shattered, turning into tiny fragments of spiritual light that slowly dissipated.
You Songgan and Qing Sui, who had set up the spiritual energy barrier together, turned deathly pale. Blood trickled from the corners of their mouths. They took several steps back before barely managing to steady themselves with their spiritual swords.
You Songgan stared intently at the figure floating in the air, his eyes bloodshot. How old did this person look? Seventy? Or eighty? Yet he was already at the Great Ascension stage. Looking at the equally disheveled Qing Sui beside him, his heart was filled with regret and remorse.
He had underestimated his opponent and been too careless. Even though Wudao had warned him that this person's cultivation was somewhat unusual, he hadn't taken it to heart. He had assumed that even if this young man's cultivation had increased, he couldn't possibly surpass their Tianyuan Sect's ancestor, the Ruler Sword Venerable! But now? Faced with the absolute power of a Mahayana cultivator, let alone one ancestor, even ten ancestors would be futile!
His momentary negligence has brought such a great disaster to the Tianyuan Sect. Even if he wants to retreat now, this boy will never let them leave!
In contrast to the gloomy faces of the cultivators, the elders of the Qingyun Sect watched all this with smiles on their faces. It proved that their initial choice was correct; now that Fellow Daoist Junming had successfully advanced, their Qingyun Sect could finally hold its head high!
If we were to name the person in the most agonizing situation among those present, it would undoubtedly be Qing Sui. Their Baiyun Sect had incurred his enmity before his cultivation level was even clear. From the moment their former sect leader, Yun Songzi, lost his life at his hands, he should have restrained his disciples from provoking this man and focusing on their cultivation.
But he was persuaded by You Songgan and took a chance... Back then, this boy's cultivation was already difficult for their Baiyun Sect to withstand, and now he has reached the terrifying Mahayana stage. Their Baiyun Sect is probably doomed today.
Qing Sui could sense that the cultivators from various sects who had just stood up for their Baiyun Sect were now all tacitly distancing themselves from him. He even began to resent the Seventh Elder, Changmi Daoist, whose fate was now unknown. If it weren't for him, how could their Baiyun Sect have formed an enmity with this person?
At this moment, Qing Sui's body trembled violently. He was horrified to discover that his once unwavering Dao heart was now beginning to loosen and cracks were appearing.
Qing Sui gritted his teeth and forcefully suppressed these inappropriate thoughts. But at this moment, the inner demons had already arisen, and he was powerless to stop them.
As the tribulation clouds above slowly dissipated, Song Ce floated in the air, stepping on the lingering lightning. At this moment, the spiritual power around him flowed as if it were tangible. Qing Sui used all her strength to look up, trying to see what expression the person in the air had.
Is it pride? Or dissatisfaction?
What puzzled Qing Sui was that Song Ce's expression was very calm, even mild. He couldn't find a trace of pride or dissatisfaction.
Just then, a boy who looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old, carrying a huge silver longsword, suddenly appeared in the air.
You Songgan recognized the person almost immediately; it was none other than their Tianyuan Sect's ancestor, the Sword Master!
"Senior, please show mercy."
Although the Sword Master is a Void Refining stage ancestor of the Tianyuan Sect, strength is paramount on the continent. Even if the junior in front of him is hundreds of years younger than him, he must still respectfully call him "senior"!
Upon hearing this, Song Ce slightly raised his eyes and glanced casually at the Sword Master: "Show mercy? Just now, while I was undergoing my tribulation, they unleashed a series of deadly attacks. Did they ever think of showing me any mercy?"
"This..." The Sword Master understood that today's events were unlikely to end easily, so his tone became even gentler, with a hint of ingratiation: "Senior, it was the juniors' ignorance that offended you today. You are magnanimous; why hold it against them? I have already learned the whole story of that incident from the juniors within the sect. The disciple who harmed your master has already paid with his life. This matter is entirely his fault and has nothing to do with anyone else in the sect. The cycle of cause and effect has begun; I hope you will show mercy and not let one person implicate the entire Tianyuan Sect!"
After saying this, Master Chijian stepped forward and solemnly said, "Today, I, Master Chijian, hereby swear a solemn oath that the Tianyuan Sect will do everything in its power to make amends to you, senior. If I break this oath, I will be struck by heavenly lightning, and my cultivation path will come to an end, with no further progress! Senior, what do you think? Let's put an end to our grudges here and turn hostility into friendship, shall we?"
Song Ce smiled faintly. Faced with absolute power, even a sect patriarch who was usually high and mighty had to lower his posture and speak properly.
"This is the Mirror of Inquiry. Anyone who comes to Qingyun Sect today and can walk out of this mirror will not be held accountable for what happened today."
After speaking, Song Ce casually flicked his sleeve, and a stream of light flew out from his wide sleeve. At the same time, a water mirror gleaming with a fiery red light appeared in front of each cultivator, floating quietly.
Seeing this, the Sword Master gritted his teeth and shouted, "All Tianyuan Sect disciples, enter the mirror!" In an instant, the Tianyuan Sect disciples who entered the Mirror of Inquiry collapsed to the ground, as if they had fallen into a deep sleep.
Seeing this, the cultivators who were still watching felt a strong sense of despair and helplessness. Some tried to break the escape talisman to leave, but found that a ring of fire had appeared under their feet. Before they could even utter a sound, they were hoisted and thrown into the Mirror of Inquiry.
...
A gentle breeze swept the fallen leaves from the ground into the sky. You Songgan stared blankly at the scene before him. This was the Qingwu Palace, where he had lived when he was a direct disciple of the Tianyuan Sect.
He looked closely at his hands, feeling that something was amiss. As he slowly pushed open the door of the Qingwu Palace, he heard a gentle voice from behind the bamboo curtain: "Husband, come in quickly and help me see which of these two sword tassels is more suitable for my spirit sword."
Husband? When...did he get married? And this voice wasn't a soft female voice, but rather...
You Songgan's heart skipped a beat, and he felt as if he were being pulled by an invisible thread, his feet moving slowly and involuntarily toward the bamboo curtain.
With trembling hands, he gently pulled on a corner of the bamboo curtain, and then slowly lifted it up.
Inside the room, a familiar figure came into view. The person had their back to him, with long, black hair lazily draped behind them. His gaze was instantly drawn to the person's clothes—those were clearly his own disciple's robes!
You Songgan was tall, and the disciple's robe looked much too big on him. The sleeves were carefully rolled up several times, revealing a section of porcelain-white, slender forearm.
"Husband, why are you spacing out for no reason?" The man turned around, and the jade pendant hanging from his waist was the kind of spiritual jade that only Daoist couples of their Tianyuan Sect could obtain after forming a bond.
You Songgan's pupils dilated suddenly. The gentle, smiling face of the person in front of him overlapped with and separated from the image of Elder Wudao, who was always cold to him and was deeply buried in his memory.
"Nothingness, no Tao, you..."
You Songgan couldn't help but reach out his hand, his gaze fixed on the person before him. At this moment, although the appearance of the person before him was no different from Elder Wudao, his expression and demeanor were completely devoid of the stiffness and coldness of the past.
Wudao—or rather, the "Daoist companion" in the illusion—smiled and placed the two sword tassels in her hands aside. Then she stood up and walked in front of him, naturally stretching out her arms and wrapping them around his neck.
"Husband, what's wrong? It's like you don't recognize me?" The tone was affectionate yet tinged with a hint of reproach, as if they were truly a loving couple who had been together for a long time and shared a deep bond.
You Songgan steadied himself, grabbed Wudao's wrist and held it tightly. Heaven knows how much effort he put into making his voice sound natural: "Wudao, what... what do you mean by this?"
"Husband, you, you're hurting me." Wudao struggled, but couldn't break free. "Last night you told me you only wished for us to be together, that your love would never change. How come you've turned your back on me today?"
"Together we stay, our love remains unchanged..." You Songgan repeated softly, feeling the warmth emanating from his palms, a strange feeling suddenly welled up in his heart.
His gaze fell on two sword tassels not far away, one was an elegant dark black, and the other was a pure moon white.
You Songgan used his spiritual power to hold the plain, moon-white sword tassel in his hand, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the cloud patterns on the tassel. This item was clearly a birthday gift he had given to Wudao two hundred years ago. At that time, Wudao had a calm expression, accepted the sword tassel, and put it directly into his storage bag. Since then, he had never seen Wudao take it out and wear it on his spirit sword.
He held the sword tassel and presented it to Wudao, saying, "It was my fault. This sword suits you very well."
Upon hearing this, Wu Dao's eyes lit up, and the aggrieved expression on his face was quickly replaced by joy: "Really? Then I'll use this one." As he spoke, he summoned his spirit sword and skillfully tied the moon-white sword tassel to the hilt.
"Husband, come on, let's exchange a few moves."
“Okay,” Yusonggan heard himself say.
The moon-white sword tassel fluttered with the sword energy, and You Songgan deliberately revealed a slight opening in the twelfth round. As he expected, Wudao seized the opportunity just like before and knocked his spirit sword to the ground.
"My husband is being lenient with me!" The illusion of Wudao chuckled and reached out his hand towards him as he rode his sword through the air.
The Mirror of Inquiry is used to question the illusions woven by inner demons. This heartwarming scene is exactly what You Songgan longs for most in his midnight dreams. He can't help but grab Wudao's outstretched hand and pull the person in front of him tightly into his arms, making it impossible for him to break free.
At least here, Wudao wouldn't push away his outstretched hand, wouldn't look at him with cold and disgusted eyes, and certainly wouldn't regard his love as a monstrous threat...
At this moment, the Sword Master, who had emerged from the Mirror of Inquiry, turned ashen upon seeing this scene. He swiftly cast a spell into You Songgan's water mirror, gritting his teeth to suppress the surging anger within him, and coldly transmitted his voice: "Songgan, it's time for you to wake up."
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Author's note: You Songgan looks like he's got food poisoning from ordering a mixed meal, hahaha.
Chi Jian: Oh no, Tianyuan Pills! [Crying emoji]
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