Chapter 227 Red Kite Seeks Jade (Part 1)
Wei Feng woke up in the snow.
In the cultivation world, there are no seasons. When spiritual energy is stable, there is very little rain or snow. Instead, there is more rain or snow in the illusion. He lay on the sea, floating up and down, looking at the cold gray sky and the white snow. His memories slowly returned after a long time. He suddenly sat up.
With his violent movements, his body made a devastating cracking sound. The pain came belatedly. He looked down and saw his arms and thighs scorched by divine power, flesh turned outwards and bones exposed. The sea reflected Jiang Gu's unrecognizable face, and Wei Feng felt a chill run through his body for a moment.
Snowflakes fell on the flesh and blood. Wei Feng carefully withdrew his primordial spirit from the body. Gui Wen cautiously supported the barely intact parts. He used his primordial spirit to condense a physical form, took out the black jade bracelet, and carefully placed Jiang Gu's body inside. The shattered bones and dripping flesh... he was almost collecting Jiang Gu's remains.
He pretended not to see the Vermilion Bird family crest that had disappeared on the inside of the black jade bracelet, kept telling himself that Jiang Gu was still alive, then put the bracelet into his sea of consciousness to nurture it, and turned into mist to rush towards the Temple of the God of War.
But when he arrived at the location of the temple, all he saw was a sea.
Wei Feng's gaze froze for a moment. He stopped high in the sky, turned his head and looked around. As far as the eye could see, there was a bottomless sea and land fragmented into pieces, drifting south with the flow of the sea.
He moved his lips and tried to activate the mark Jiang Gu had left in his dantian, but found that the mark was gradually dissipating. The Fire Rope could not sense Jiang Gu's presence at all, and the mark he had placed in Jiang Gu's sea of consciousness was also silent. He began to use the search array... After many unsuccessful attempts, he finally lost his patience and transformed into a divine kite shark, plunging headfirst into the cold seawater.
He didn't know how much time had passed, but when he resurfaced, he saw a small island drifting towards him on the sea, and he could hear voices coming from the island.
He flew to the island and saw Bai Yi, as well as many withered Bodhi trees and Buddhist monks, who were taking care of a group of children.
"Where is Jiang Gu?" Bai Yi asked him.
Wei Feng opened his mouth: "Have you seen him before?"
Bai Yi shook his head and said to him, "The destructive power of those divine powers was too great. We were all scattered. In the past six months, we finally found these children. However, the Bodhi clan suffered heavy casualties, and even Hou Wenxin passed away while protecting them."
Wei Feng's expression went blank for a moment: "Half a year?"
Bai Yi gripped the bone sword in his hand and asked, "Are you alright?"
Wei Feng nodded and listened to Bai Yi say, "These islands have been floating and are already far from Wangyue. The cultivators who were illuminated by the divine power lost all their spiritual power and only recently regained their cultivation and made contact. If you want to find Jiang Gu, you need to go north."
"Thank you." Wei Feng thanked her and turned to leave, but she called him back.
"Wei Feng, you—" Bai Yi saw his dazed expression, hesitated, and finally just gripped the bone sword in his hand tightly, "Jiang Gu will be fine, don't worry."
Wei Feng nodded, his gaze sweeping over her bone sword before leaping onto the Crimson Snow Sword, leaving the children and cultivators on the island behind the clouds.
He then encountered many more monks from Hirazawa.
Lin Feibai and Zhou Tingran had already gathered the cultivators from the Lin and Zhou families, many of whom were exploring the remaining temples in flying boats. Zhou Tingran was holding her newborn daughter, whose scars had not yet faded. Lin Feibai protected his wife and daughter by his side, and only lowered his guard after Wei Feng explained his purpose. He shook his head and said, "We have been active in the vicinity and have not seen Jiang Gu. The statue of the God of War collapsed, and many temples have sunk to the bottom of the sea. We have only recently recovered some of our cultivation and started exploring. If there is any news about him, I will tell you immediately."
"Thank you." Wei Feng nodded.
For a moment, Lin Feibai thought he saw Jiang Gu. For some reason, he remembered when he couldn't find Zhou Tingran, and said, "You'd better find a body quickly. The divine power at sea hasn't faded yet, and using your primordial spirit will damage you."
"Master, we've discovered another divine artifact on the seabed here!" someone called out from afar. "Could you please come and take a look?"
Lin Feibai nodded to Wei Feng and left with Zhou Tingran and her daughter. Wei Feng vaguely heard their conversation.
"...He's about the same age as Jingchen, right?" Zhou Tingran asked.
“He’s a few years older, I wonder if Hu Jingchen has reached Pingze yet… I hope he can reunite with his parents soon,” Lin Feibai said.
"There are quite a few others who went back with him to rest, so you don't need to worry. Send him a message in a few days..." Zhou Tingran patted his arm.
Wei Feng had no idea that while he was unconscious for more than half a year, he encountered many surviving cultivators from Pingze who were all exploring the temple in an organized manner. After crossing the island where the Linglong Sect was gathered, he finally saw the flying boat engraved with the Jiang family's Vermilion Bird crest.
Jiang Xiangyun, covered in blood, was applying hemostatic talismans to his body. When he saw him arrive, he raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Good nephew, I knew you weren't dead."
His body was still relatively intact, but he felt that his spiritual power was not as strong as before. Seeing Wei Feng staring at him, he smiled and explained, "My original body was destroyed by divine power. This body was formed by the fragment of my spirit left outside the Boundary Village. It will probably take a hundred years to grow the bones, flesh and meridians of an ordinary person."
Wei Feng was stunned. He suddenly remembered that Jiang Gu had left a clone outside the border town, which had been staying with his real body. His chaotic thoughts finally cleared up. As if he had grasped a lifeline, he immediately contacted his clone, only to find that the clone was extremely close to him.
“I woke up a few months ago and went to find my own avatar. Of course, I wouldn’t forget your master—” Jiang Xiangyun quickly explained, but when he saw the look of surprise in his eyes, he paused slightly. “But I sent people to search for a long time and only found your avatar. I asked around for a long time, but even you didn’t know Jiang Gu’s whereabouts.”
Wei Feng frowned. Jiang Xiangyun snapped his fingers, and Wei Feng's distraction came out of the room. His eyes were empty and his movements were stiff. Jiang Xiangyun said, "His memories must have been sealed by Jiang Gu. I tried to unlock them, but it was no use."
Wei Feng carefully examined the avatar, confirming that it only bore traces of Jiang Gu, before absorbing it back into his main body. He then returned to his long-lost body. He moved his stiff neck, his mind filled with memories of his time in the secret realm with Jiang Gu's avatar. He didn't know what method Jiang Gu had used, but the interaction between the two avatars was exactly that of a normal master and disciple, consisting mainly of cultivation and fighting. His avatar had even progressed from the second stage of Refining to the Nascent Soul stage, its body exceptionally strong...
However, his last memory was deliberately sealed away. The last scene that appeared in Jiang Gu's mind was before the collapse of the Moon Gazing Continent.
'Wait for me here, don't wander off.' Jiang Gu patted his head, then turned and left, leaving him with only his back view.
Wei Feng tried to grab it, but was firmly imprisoned in place by the protective formation. Then, the formation shone brightly, directly sealing Wei Feng's divided spirit, leaving only the mark of the Jiang family's Vermilion Bird pattern.
“Only you or someone from the Jiang family can open this formation,” Jiang Xiangyun said. “Seventh Brother seems to have anticipated this. He has always been meticulous in his planning. I am more inclined to believe that he is safe and sound now.”
"With so much divine power entering his primordial spirit, how could he be alright?" Wei Feng asked, staring at him.
Jiang Xiangyun said, "He is Jiang Gu."
Wei Feng remained silent for a long time before saying, "Thank you."
"What are your plans next?" Jiang Xiangyun asked. "Now that Wangyue Continent has shattered into countless islands, judging from the direction, they should drift to the vicinity of the far south. After the major families have finished exploring the temples on the islands, they will return to Pingze. The spiritual veins that were severed in Pingze have been restored, and the spiritual energy and resources in Pingze will not be worse than before Wangyue. Many Wangyue cultivators are already planning to go to Pingze. Your passage to Wangyue—Chen Yao—is sealed, and Xiao Dan will not appear again for a while. If Jiang Gu is alive, he should also return to Pingze Continent."
"I need to find him," Wei Feng said calmly.
Jiang Xiangyun didn't want to persuade him any further, so she smiled and said, "Alright."
Wei Feng glanced around and asked him, "Where's Lu Liyu?"
Jiang Xiangyun smiled and said, "He's dead."
Wei Feng was somewhat surprised: "Dead?"
“His life-and-death pact with the Eight Pavilions was not broken, and the divine artifact could not protect his primordial spirit,” Jiang Xiangyun said. “It just dissipated more slowly than other cultivators. He died in the Floating Spring Ancient God Temple. Last time, he calculated the death divination in the temple.”
"Where is the divided spirit within the Golden Spirit Pagoda?"
“He died once before.” Jiang Xiangyun cleared his throat. “He only left me with a shell. When I woke up, the divine power around me hadn’t dissipated yet. I tried to use my spiritual power, but it was gone too. Nothing was left… he vanished into thin air.”
Wei Feng looked at him.
Jiang Xiangyun felt uncomfortable under his gaze and laughed, "Now you can't go looking for revenge on him anymore, can you?"
Wei Feng wanted to say that he deserved it, but he chose to remain silent. Jiang Xiangyun smiled nonchalantly, but his knuckles turned white as he rested his hands on the table.
"Hmm." Wei Feng nodded, and as he was about to leave, Jiang Xiangyun said again, "You're the first person to ask him."
Wei Feng paused slightly, suddenly understanding why he had described Lu Liyu's death in such detail, and said in a deep voice, "Please accept my condolences."
There was complete silence behind me.
Wei Feng didn't have the extra energy to care about others; all he wanted to do now was find Jiang Gu.
He was on edge, forcing himself to remain calm, imagining himself as Jiang Gu countless times, trying to put himself in Jiang Gu's shoes and consider ways for him to escape, wandering in the deep sea where the Wangyue Continent had sunk, searching for any possible clues about Jiang Gu.
He encountered Qingdu and Xialing. Xialing told him that Mo Daojin had fallen. Yu Qianning decided to stay on Wangyue Island. Too many cultivators had died here, but the resources in the temple were inexhaustible. They wanted him to return to Pingze, but he refused. Cultivators from the old site of Wangyue Continent came and went, and countless people had come and gone.
The Vermilion Bird mark on his dantian completely disappeared, and the Crimson Snow Sword and the Black Jade Bracelet became ownerless magical artifacts. The snow on the sea fell heavier and heavier, and Wei Feng underwent another tribulation of lightning. This time, he broke through to the early stage of the Great Luo Realm, but was struck so hard that he was left with only half a breath, floating in the cold seawater.
A hand grabbed his shirt and pulled him out of the sea.
He opened his eyes in ecstasy, only to see Xuan Zhiyan and Qu Fengyu.
Wu Tuo, now a young boy, leaned on Xuan Zhiyan's shoulder. He looked at Wei Feng and sighed, "Seventeen years have passed, Wei Feng. Are you still going to keep searching?"
Wei Feng blinked somewhat slowly and asked, "I'm still alive?"
Xuan Zhiyan nodded: "He's not dead."
Wei Feng got up and walked north: "I am now at the Great Luo Realm, so I should be able to open a passage to the Chenyao Continent."
"The sealed passage is guarded by tens of thousands of cultivators from powerful clans, and suppressed by countless formations and divine artifacts, all to prevent Xiao Dan from returning." Qu Fengyu's voice rang out behind him. "Even Xiao Dan, a Dao Ancestor Realm cultivator, couldn't return. How could you, a mere Great Luo Realm cultivator, possibly go there?"
Wei Feng said calmly, "How will you know if you don't try?"
“Jiang Gu is cautious by nature. If he were really alive, how could he not have left you any clues?” Qu Fengyu said. “You’ve practically turned this War God Temple ruins upside down.”
Wei Feng turned his head, his eyes filled with a calm indifference, and said indifferently, "If I say I can find it, I will definitely find it."
Qu Fengyu remained silent and looked at Xuan Zhiyan.
Xuan Zhiyan pursed his lips, took out the Mirror Flower Scroll from his storage bag and handed it to him: "Xiao Qingyan is still unconscious, but a few days ago, Aunt Qu and I finally retrieved the Mirror Flower Scroll from his sea of consciousness. Back then, Xiao Dan used the Mirror Flower Scroll to connect the water veins of Chen Yao and Wang Yue, so it might be useful to you."
Wei Feng glanced at him, took it, and said, "Thank you."
“We’re going back to Pingze,” Xuan Zhiyan said. “The resources of Wangyue have been almost completely divided up, and Yanghua Sect has also taken a small portion. Xia Ling and Qingdu have written to ask us to go back and help.”
Wei Feng nodded.
"Take care." Xuan Zhiyan patted his shoulder, turned around, took Wu Tuo's hand, and boarded the flying boat back to Pingze with Qu Fengyu.
Wei Feng stood on the sea, watching them leave. He knew that this parting might be many years before they could meet again.
"...The path of cultivation is long and arduous, and ultimately you must rely on yourself. From now on, you will be alone as the norm."
Jiang Gu's voice rang in his ears. Wei Feng couldn't quite remember the context in which he had said those words, but he remembered Jiang Gu's cold and handsome profile, the firelight reflected in his eyes, and the chilling yet reassuring aura emanating from him.
He gripped the Mirror Flower Scroll tightly, leaped onto the Crimson Snow Sword, and flew towards the distant, sky full of rosy clouds.
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