Chapter 111
The next morning, Su Jinzhou prepared the Pu'er tea early and placed a spirit stone containing fire spiritual power under the pot to keep the tea warm.
Ji Tang slept until dawn. When he came out of the cave, he saw the talisman left by Su Jinzhou on the stone wall.
This is a message talisman that can only be opened with the power of the soul. It requires extremely high power of the soul. Not to mention Qianli Yanbo, even looking at the entire Suxuan Sect, only Jitang can open it.
She injected her spiritual power into it, and there was only a short line of words in it.
——I’m going to Wankuhan Mountain to receive the inheritance and will be back soon.
The last trace of sleepiness in Jitang's eyes disappeared, replaced by a smile. She put the talisman into her storage bag and poured herself a cup of tea.
When Gu Yan found Ji Tang, he saw her sitting by the stove with warm tea, her movements casual, with a faint smile on her lips.
She and Su Jinzhou are both powerful beings in the Tribulation Crossing Stage, but unlike Su Jinzhou, she is not as sage-like and calm in everything. Instead, she exudes a sense of freedom and leisure everywhere.
Gu Yan had a deep affection for his senior brothers and sisters; they were his closest fellow disciples. But to be honest, when facing Su Jinzhou, he would still subconsciously feel nervous and timid, but when facing his senior sister, he would feel a yearning.
There is always a kind of temperament called freedom in my senior sister. It’s hard to describe, but it is very attractive.
Ji Tang turned sideways and poured a cup of tea for Gu Yan, who hurried forward to take it.
"Yan Yan is here to see me?"
Gu Yan felt helpless and amused by this title. There was one thing he didn't mention, which was that his senior sister was often not serious and what she said was not very reliable.
"Sister, the Ten-Year Competition is just around the corner. It's one of the most exciting events in the world of cultivation. During this time, you should rest and recuperate at Qianli Yanbo. When you return from receiving the inheritance, shall we go and join in the fun?"
Joining in the fun was just an excuse. Gu Yan actually wanted everyone to get together, no matter how big or small the matter was, and spend some time together.
He missed the days at Ganri Peak, when the three brothers and sisters were together.
For a long time, breakfast became a luxury for him.
Now that they had finally reunited, he didn't want anything to disturb this long-awaited opportunity.
Ji Tang laughed: "It's true, I was in Qingmang Yanyue Mountain, Yewangchuan, and even went to the Nightmare Fantasy Valley. Now that I finally have some free time, it's time to take a break."
A mere year passed in the blink of an eye for those who practice Taoism. The ten-year competition was about to begin, and Ji Tang wanted to take this opportunity to spend more time with his family.
"With my senior brother's ability, the inheritance won't last long. When he comes back, we'll go watch the Ten-Year Competition together."
Gu Yan grinned, "Okay! We'll go together then!" He said, and then said, "Senior Sister, there's one more thing..."
Seeing him hesitate, Jitang couldn't help but ask with a smile: "What's the matter?"
"My sister, Gu Sangniao, didn't know my identity before and did many wrong things. I have punished her. She is waiting outside Qianli Yanbo now, wanting to apologize to me."
Ji Tang raised his eyebrows, "Is it sincere or fake?"
Gu Yan coughed, "...Senior Sister, you are really merciless."
Ji Tang drank his tea and said, "Yan Yan, when you reach the level of my senior sister, you will know that it is unnecessary to be hypocritical. It is normal to say what you think."
Of course Gu Yan believed it. The only two powerful beings in the world of cultivation who had reached the Tribulation Crossing Stage were the ones who said whatever they thought. With their strength at their disposal, there was no need to waste time on such trivial matters.
Gu Yan: "She's sincere, she can't be fake. Senior Sister, after she knows your identity, it will be too late, how can she have any other thoughts?"
Jitang waved his hand, "Bring her in."
Gu Yan quickly brought the person over. Gu Sangniao came in with a well-behaved look and bowed to Ji Tang: "Sangniao greets the Nightmare Lord."
Ji Tang hummed and said lightly, "Not a demon anymore?"
Gu Sangniao had been tossed around by Gu Yan many times before, and she knew that her senior sister was notorious for holding grudges. She said softly, "It was Sangniao who was ignorant before. Please don't blame me, Lord Nightmare!"
As she spoke, she lowered her head and knelt down without hesitation.
Ji Tang lowered his eyes to look at her, his gaze quickly falling on the magpie hairpin in her hair.
Yes, this was prepared long ago.
Ji Tang flicked out the nightmare energy, which was transformed into spiritual power through the ice bracelet on his wrist, and then he helped Gu Sangniao stand up.
"Alright, even though you were forced to bow down to me due to my strength, you're also a man of understanding. I won't argue with you, and the promises I made to Yanyan before still stand."
She once promised that as long as Sister Gu Yan asked for something during her lifetime, she would do something for her.
Although Nightmare Lord holds a grudge, he also keeps his word.
Gu Sangniao kowtowed to Jitang fiercely: "Junior has a favor to ask of you."
Jitang: “…”
Gu Sangniao not only knows how to adapt to the times, but is also very good at taking advantage of others.
"What is it?"
Gu Sangniao raised her head and said, "Please, Lord Nightmare, kill my ex-husband and give me back my freedom!"
Jitang glanced at Gu Yan.
Gu Yan then said, "Sang Niao's ex-husband is now the head of Du Zhao Clan, Jiang Dui Xie."
Gu Sangniao knelt down again: "We met in humble beginnings. When we got married, we were just ordinary people with no cultivation. Jiang Duihe made a living by forging iron. One day, by chance, he was making small items for a young disciple of a cultivation sect and was fortunate to come into contact with some of the ways of cultivation. Afterwards, he worshipped the young disciple as his master, and was able to squeeze into the path of cultivation.
He was quite honest at that time. He said he wanted to live as long as the heavens with me and become immortal together. I believed him, so I started to practice with him and took that young disciple as my master.
Ji Tang: "Since you have a brother who is practicing Taoism in Su Xuan Sect, why do you still want to become a disciple of an unknown little guy?"
Gu Yan smiled bitterly, "It's my fault. My family was poor back then, and I had high aspirations but little skills. I only had the desire to become stronger, but I didn't know how to take one step at a time. I didn't want to be trapped in the village my whole life, so I decided to leave home and seek the way of cultivation. My parents are old and my sister is still young, and they all rely on me, but I still chose to leave home for an illusory opportunity.
My sister and I drifted apart, and when she grew up and got married, I only dared to visit her secretly. Seeing that she was doing well, I settled down to cultivate in the sect. In a blink of an eye, I spent more than a decade in seclusion, and even decades longer was not uncommon. I never expected that when I saw her again, she had already embarked on the path of cultivation, but her life was not good.
Gu Sangniao's eyes were bloodshot. "Jiang Duixie pretended to be practicing hard and took me to join the sect, but in fact he was secretly practicing evil cultivation. His cultivation speed was much faster than that of ordinary cultivators. At that time, the sect master valued him very much and accepted him as his last disciple. He climbed up step by step like this, climbed to the position of elder, and later replaced the sect master.
I always thought he was incredibly talented, and by comparison, I seemed so clueless, and increasingly felt unworthy of him. As time went on, I could only look up to him, watching him place so many other beautiful women around him and not be interested in me.
Until I discovered his secret as an evil cultivator and learned about the vicious things he did behind the scenes. He plotted against the elders and used the sect's disciples as a reserve for cultivation. He killed most of the disciples he sent out, using them as spiritual energy to fuel his own growth. Furthermore, he even killed the sect leader, who had always treated him like one of his own children!
Gu Sangniao pulled the corners of her mouth, appearing to be smiling, but her eyes were desolate. "Since I discovered his secret, I naturally couldn't survive, and I didn't want to live anymore. But he didn't kill me. He restricted me from going out and made me practice every day. I also became a supply for his practice. Every time I practiced, he took it all away. My cultivation stagnated. Everyone just thought I didn't have the spiritual roots to cultivate, and in the end, I could only end up annihilating everyone."
Jitang recalled, "Crossing Zhaomen..."
Gu Sang Niao: "I wish I could kill him! Pull out his tendons and skin him alive! I prepared for a long time before I finally escaped from the sect. He openly sent people to look for me, saying that I was mentally ill and crazy enough to kill him. But secretly he was also looking for me because I knew his secret and there was no way he would let me escape.
I hid everywhere, not appearing in public for a long time. I endured this for hundreds of years before finally making up my mind to come out and see what was happening. I learned that my sect had been slaughtered by someone unknown and was long gone. It was undoubtedly him. After much investigation and attending numerous cult events under an assumed name, I discovered that Jiang Duixie had established his own sect, the Duzhao Sect, and had become its leader.
After that, it was the battle at Nightmare Valley."
Ji Tang had never remembered these small sects before, but after the battle in the Nightmare Fantasy Valley, she remembered quite a few of them.
Wuwang Gate, Jinyu Gate, Guijian Gate, Duzhao Gate, and Xiahai Gate.
Like Xue Mei, they are the executioners who caused the Nightmare Fantasy Valley to hide away from the world.
Gu Yan: "Although my cultivation is higher than Jiang Duixie's, the evil cultivators use various strange methods. He planted an evil life-controlling insect on Sang Niao, which was activated by Jiang Duixie. Although Sang Niao seems to be out of Jiang Duixie's control now, her life is still in Jiang Duixie's hands because of the insect. The insect absorbs Sang Niao's cultivation and continuously supplies Jiang Duixie with spiritual energy."
Gu Sang Niao: "Jiang Dui Xie just wants to torture me. He never gives me a clear answer. He just wants to see me stuck in the middle and under his control for the rest of my life! So much time has passed. Who still knows about the old sect? Those disputes have long disappeared with the slaughter. Even if I tell everyone about his evil deeds, no one will believe me given his status."
Ji Tang asked, "Brother, you have no way to deal with this poisonous insect?"
Gu Yan hesitated to speak and looked at Gu Sangniao who was kneeling on the ground.
Gu Sang Niao: "With my cultivation level, I am no match for Jiang Dui Xie. I can ask the Immortal Venerable to destroy the Gu worm, but the Immortal Venerable cannot protect me forever."
She had thought that if she could lean on the Immortal Venerable, she would no longer have to fear anything. So many women in the world admired the Immortal Venerable, and having a brother like him, and having the opportunity to stand beside him, was already a great blessing.
While accepting countless envy, she silently watched the back of the Immortal Venerable, and earned a place in the world with the magpie hairpin given by the Nightmare Venerable. While she was jealous of the Nightmare Venerable, she also hated the Nightmare Clan because of Jiang's interference in Xie.
Gu Sangniao smiled bitterly.
What was the difference between her and her brother? They both had high aspirations but low skills. She thought that just because she was close to the Immortal Venerable, she could truly stand shoulder to shoulder with these powerful beings. In reality, she was just a tiny speck of dust, insignificant.
The deeper you get into the mud, the harder it is to distinguish between illusion and reality.
Taking illusions as reality, blinding oneself, willingly becoming blind. Not wanting to acknowledge the truth, fearing that one cannot bear the cruelty and pressure of reality, fearing that one will lose one's goals and hopes, and that despair will follow after the confusion.
When the illusion is shattered, she will be nothing and have nothing.
"The poisonous insect can be removed, but Jiang Duixie can continue to breed. As long as he is not dead, I will never be free." Gu Sangniao kowtowed heavily to Jitang. When he looked up again, his forehead was red and swollen. "Yanzun, please kill Jiang Duixie and give me freedom!"
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