Chapter 142 Is it immoral?: After a brief reminiscing, it was time to clean up the mess. Fortunately, Chongxue Pavilion was nearby…
After a brief reminiscing, it was time to clean up the mess.
Fortunately, the disciples near Chongxue Pavilion were cleared away in advance, otherwise they would have witnessed Chongxue Pavilion being destroyed by the demons, and there were two palace masters whose identities were hard to discern.
One was bound by the formation, while the other was elegantly dressed in purple.
Xi Huaizhen was imprisoned in the secret realm for three hundred years. This place had long been refined by Xi Tingzhu, who recognized her as her master. There was nothing inside except for an inexhaustible supply of spiritual artifacts.
All she can do is cultivate, then wait a long time to seize a sliver of a chance to escape, or return to the Mahayana cultivation level and let the lightning tribulation shatter the shackles of the secret realm.
Being imprisoned in the secret realm wasn't all bad. At least the hidden injuries left from the war between immortals and demons had been largely healed, and he was just waiting for an opportunity to return to the Mahayana cultivation level.
Xi Huaizhen had Xi Tingzhu taken away for later disposal. Her spiritual power was restricted, so she couldn't hurt anyone, but she was unwilling and kept struggling.
There was no other way but for Xi Huaizhen to take matters into her own hands and take the person away.
This time, Xi Tingzhu stopped struggling and stared at Xi Huaizhen, wanting to say something.
Xi Huaizhen pretended not to see it and would not respond at all; she was utterly disappointed in this younger sister.
They were overjoyed when they received the news, and shocked when they were pushed into the secret realm. After years of searching, this was the result.
The whole thing started when she said to Xi Tingzhu, "After the great battle is over, how about I hand over the position of Palace Master to you?"
Xi Tingzhu flew into a rage and retorted, "It's always about yielding! I don't need you to yield!"
He waved his hand and pushed her into the crack behind him, then ruthlessly closed the door. For three hundred years, he didn't care how Xi Huaizhen tried to break through the door.
Xi Huaizhen gave a few instructions and then disappeared with her men.
She reappeared the next day.
Xi Congshuang did not return to the Celestial Pavilion. Instead, she randomly chose a cave within the Celestial Palace to rest. The next day, she decided to lock up the Celestial Pavilion and never go there again.
Although I met Su Wenxin while living here, those years were definitely not happy memories.
Let's just leave it buried here.
The celestial pavilion, carried by the cranes, slowly landed on a mountaintop. The puppet cranes at the foot of the pavilion scattered and transformed into sealing runes.
This was the first time Xi Congshuang had seen the residence she had lived in for so many years in person. The loud thud as it hit the ground filled her ears, and she felt an indescribable sense of wonder.
She was extremely familiar with every detail of the Immortal Pavilion; she had walked and touched every pavilion, tower, and tree inside, yet she felt unfamiliar with the magnificent and unique aerial pavilion.
“You’re tired of seeing this place, but it feels very unfamiliar to me,” Xi Congshuang suddenly said.
It's also possible that the time she lost her sight was far longer than the time she could see the world, and everything she saw in her youth has faded over time.
The vague sense of familiarity with everything in the world that she had felt in previous lives has diminished considerably in this life. After all, she is human and more accustomed to seeing things for herself.
Su Wenxin sensed that she was in a bad mood. Although she was smiling, there was no joy in her eyes. She silently took her hand.
Many things have changed, but some things haven't changed, such as Xi Congshuang's hands, which are always cold.
It's like being chilled; you need to wrap yourself up to feel warm.
Su Wenxin warmed her hands with her own, then intertwined her fingers with hers, palms touching: "How about this, does it feel more familiar now?"
The wide sleeves that draped down concealed their clasped hands. Su Wenxin's palms were warm like a fire, burning gently and passing through her hands to Xi Congshuang's, flowing with her blood to her heart.
My heart was warmed by the other person's presence, and when I looked back, the confusion and slight panic I felt because I couldn't see them faded away.
All that's left is being led around, hearing stammering descriptions that are both accurate and amusing.
The two stood very close, and Xi Congshuang, influenced by her, relaxed her shoulders slightly: "Much better."
The sealing of the Immortal Pavilion will take some time, so Xi Congshuang doesn't plan to leave. She and Su Wenxin sit in the pavilion and gaze into the distance.
"I have very few regrets in my life, but the Immortal Creation Pavilion is one of them."
They heard a voice behind them and turned around.
The visitor was none other than Xi Huaizhen. After dealing with Xi Tingzhu, she ordered her to reflect on her actions in the forbidden area. After coming out, she did not plan to return to the main palace, but instead immediately searched for Xi Congshuang's whereabouts.
Following Lan Hui's directions, Xi Huaizhen found this place.
The two people in the pavilion stood up, just as Xi Huaizhen gracefully landed, followed by Lan Hui.
Xi Congshuang: "Mother."
Su Wenxin also said, "Senior."
“You two seem to have a good relationship.” Xi Huaizhen saw Xi Congshuang seal the Immortal Pavilion, but didn’t ask why. She stood aside and looked at the Immortal Pavilion she had built herself.
The two of them stopped sitting down and stayed by her side; it was clear she had something to say.
Not long after, Xi Huaizhen spoke, turning to look at Xi Congshuang: "When I first met you, I thought it was a blessing from heaven. I wanted to give you everything I had, and in a moment of madness, I built the Immortal Pavilion."
In the distance, the seal was nearing completion. The birds and beasts inside had long been cleared out, leaving only the empty sky palace sealed away.
Xi Huaizhen withdrew her hand: "I deeply regret these years in the secret realm. Back then, I only cared about my own happiness and forgot that I and Xiang Yue are on different paths, one human and one demon, and I also forgot that what I did was against the will of Heaven."
"I've left you with so much trouble, made you suffer so much, and even built you a cage with my own hands." Her voice softened, her gaze filled with guilt and sorrow. "Are you still willing to give your mother a chance to make amends?"
Xi Congshuang sighed softly, "I have never blamed you, nor have I ever regretted it."
If she used to feel confused about family relationships, she won't now, or ever in the future.
*
Upon learning the truth, Xi Huaizhen quickly changed her tune and said to Su Wenxin, "The Su family is indeed not good. From now on, just stay at home and don't pay any attention to those people with the surname Su."
Su Wenxin was a little flustered by her concerned tone and replied, "Okay, senior."
Xi Huaizhen: "Don't call me senior, call me Aunt Zhen."
Su Wenxin: "..." She responded vaguely, holding the hand under the table, clearly not very comfortable.
There was only discomfort, not a trace of resistance.
Xi Congshuang, standing beside her, found it amusing. Su Wenxin had been known as unruly since she was young, and every elder who saw her would sigh and look at her with an unconscious critical eye.
Her young age does not mean she is ignorant, but because she is weak and unable to resist better, she appears extreme in the eyes of others and has many misunderstandings about the world.
Xi Huaizhen rambled on, "However, I have to go to the Su family. I think the Su family is not kind at all. It has only been a few years since Aying passed away, yet they are getting worse year by year."
“Aying was born with a sword-like spirit and was groomed to be the future head of the family from a young age. She has protected the Su family for many years since taking over.” As she spoke, Xi Huaizhen was very angry. “She has only been dead for a short time, and first she lost her baby who was still in swaddling clothes. When she found the baby, she treated him as an ordinary disciple.”
Before she could finish explaining her own story, Su Wenxin straightened her back.
With a slam of her hand on the table, Xi Huaizhen grew angrier as she spoke: "How dare the Su family?! They even dare to pin charges on you and convict you?"
"Don't worry, Wenxin. When Aunt Zhen has some free time in a couple of days, she'll go to the Su family and at least get back the wealth that Aying has accumulated over the years. Sword cultivation and saber cultivation techniques are not interchangeable, but rare and precious materials can be used by anyone. This is simply outrageous."
Xi Huaizhen, who appeared gentle and smiling, wasn't so angry even when facing her own sister who had betrayed her, but she was furious when faced with the mistreatment of her old friend's daughter.
Aside from feeling loving and guilty towards Xi Congshuang, this was the time she was most angry.
The two people across the table looked bewildered and surprised, unsure how to react. Xi Congshuang hesitated to offer advice, while Su Wenxin was completely stunned.
Lan Hui felt good, as she remembered that her master had always been this kind of person.
She is gentle on the outside but firm on the inside; she is mild-mannered but principled. If you violate her principles, you can expect her to come knocking on your door.
Xi Congshuang: "Mother, don't be angry. It was my oversight before that I failed to go to the Su family to seek justice for Wenxin."
“How can you blame yourself?” Xi Huaizhen and Su Wenxin said in unison.
Su Wenxin: "You were not in good health at the time, and it was already difficult for you to protect me. If you had gone to the Su family again, you might have been harassed again, which would have been detrimental to your injuries."
Xi Huaizhen also said, "You are still a junior. This matter should be handled by us elders. How can we let you take the blame? People's hearts are unpredictable. They will not think that you are doing this for Wenxin's good intentions. They will only speculate about you and try to sow discord between you."
However, the outcome was quite different when Xi Huaizhen stepped in. She was the master of the number one palace in the world, and even if her cultivation level had declined, she was still one of the most powerful figures. She had no need to covet her friend's inheritance.
Xi Congshuang was persuaded by both sides and lowered her head to drink tea.
Her past education and upbringing were inseparable from the concept of responsibility.
Not only must one be responsible for oneself, but also for the contributions of one's family and the legacy built by predecessors. One must become more outstanding in order to be competent for this position; otherwise, one is incompetent.
Therefore, when Xi Huaizhen mentioned her late friend's estate, she subconsciously thought it was within her responsibility, but she did not do so in time before it was brought up.
But she said it wasn't something she should do.
I'm not used to it. This feeling is novel and I've never experienced it before.
Xi Huaizhen noticed her discomfort and didn't force her to talk. Instead, she asked, "I see that you have reached the Golden Core stage at such a young age. That's really impressive. May I ask who your master is?"
Su Wenxin glanced subconsciously at her side. Xi Congshuang was still drinking tea. A quick glance at the corner of her eye revealed a beauty mark under her eye, which made Su Wenxin's heart flutter.
Then, realizing what she had done, she quickly said, "I did not become an apprentice."
Xi Huaizhen: "Since you have no master, why don't I take you as my disciple and have you and Yu Se become my personal disciples?"
After emerging from the secret realm and reclaiming her position as palace master, she addressed her new disciples.
Xi Huaizhen used to like taking on apprentices everywhere. Every time she held an apprenticeship ceremony, she would take on at least one or two apprentices. Those who passed her test would become her personal disciples.
Lan Hui was a special case; his first apprentice was a direct disciple of his master.
After taking Lan Hui as her apprentice, she continued to take on many other apprentices, though most of them were only nominal disciples.
In order not to damage the image of the previous palace master, Xi Tingzhu continued this practice and accepted several disciples at the disciple-acceptance ceremony, but they were only nominal disciples.
Each time it was just one student, who would then be handed over to Lan Hui for instruction, as she wasn't good at giving advice to others.
In fact, Lan Hui was personally guided by Xi Huaizhen during her cultivation, who did everything herself. She also guided the remaining disciples.
However, Xi Tingzhu did not have such patience. In order to hide her identity, she often went into seclusion and ordered Lan Hui to teach her junior sisters. At that time, Lan Hui did not know that the master in front of her had changed, so she used the way her master used to teach her to teach her junior sisters.
From initial stumbling and trial-and-error to becoming adept at it, Lan Hui gradually became familiar with the process in a short period of time.
Upon careful consideration, Xi Huaizhen was indeed quite different from her younger sister in terms of character. After returning to her position, she took the time to summon all the new apprentices she had never met before.
They offered guidance based on their respective areas of expertise, supplementing Lan Hui's lack of experience as her masters. However, among these junior sisters, only Yu Se became a direct disciple; the rest still need to work hard.
Coincidentally, Yu Se was the disciple who had followed Xi Congshuang the longest, which shows Xi Congshuang's talent.
Xi Huaizhen has her own set of standards. Those who meet the standards will be exceptionally retained, while those who do not will only receive gentle encouragement to keep trying.
He appears to be a kind teacher, but is actually a strict one.
Upon hearing Su Wenxin say that she had not taken a master, he immediately had the idea of taking her as a disciple.
Just in time to fulfill the promise he made to his friend back then, Cunzi took in a large number of disciples after becoming the head of the Qingfeng Sect, and had no interest in romance.
It's impossible for her to take her child as a disciple in her lifetime, but Su Wenxin has no master, so she can still keep her promise.
Although taking on a swordsman as an apprentice is a challenge for her, as she is not skilled with swords, she can teach everything else besides swords.
Furthermore, she could hire a guest elder specializing in knife repair to personally instruct Su Wenxin.
Not only can sect members be promoted to elders, but they can also hire powerful experts from outside as guest elders. This matter is by no means difficult to resolve.
This is also why Xi Huaizhen is angry. How difficult could it be for a sword-wielding elder to teach a child who doesn't like practicing swordsmanship?
They forced people to abandon their best talents and switch to swordsmanship, just to avoid violating their family's swordsmanship.
I always thought Su Mu was inflexible and pedantic. But over the years, his inflexibility has only increased with his cultivation level. He's not as decisive as Su Ying, who prefers to bury herself in sword practice.
There are countless sword cultivators in the world; if hired with a hefty sum, there's nothing the Palace Master of Flying Immortal Palace cannot do.
Let alone Su Wenxin, even if her own daughter said she didn't want to practice the zither or become a formation cultivator, she would still be willing. As long as it's her talent, she'd be willing to practice whatever she wants.
However, not cultivating is not an option; Palace Master Xi's principle is that cultivation cannot be neglected.
"Mother," Xi Congshuang suddenly interrupted.
Xi Huaizhen turned her head and asked, "Hey, what's wrong?"
"If a couple in love becomes fellow disciples, will it affect their marriage?" Xi Congshuang asked seriously. "What about master and disciple?"
Xi Huaizhen: "...?"
Lan Hui: "..."
The eldest sister's expression gradually went blank, and she vaguely realized something.
So that's how it is! So that's how it is!
In her mind, she connected everything they had experienced in the past. Their relationship wasn't just a simple one; it was a deep bond that transcended life and death.
Realizing that Xi Congshuang's expression was not a joke, Palace Master Xi was surprised. Palace Master Xi pondered, then shook her head and nodded: "Our righteous path does not mind fellow disciples marrying, but master and disciple cannot. This is an immoral act. If it is not widely publicized, it will not have any impact."
After a moment's thought, Xi Huaizhen added, "However, generally speaking, it can't be hidden. When it comes to matters of the heart, it's hard for people involved to see clearly, and they're filled with anxiety and uncertainty, but it's easy for bystanders to see through it."
Xi Congshuang thought to herself, "As expected: what will happen if they see through it?"
As Xi Huaizhen recalled the past, her eyes suddenly darkened: "Once discovered, they will be condemned. Public opinion is a fearsome thing, and it's not good for either side. But there is one exception: as long as both sides are powerful enough, no one will dare to object."
Such a powerful being would be revered anywhere, and no one would dare to indulge him in who he was paired with as a Daoist partner.
Those who are chosen by the elders and whose search continues for years without ever being abandoned are definitely not foolish.
Xi Huaizhen quickly understood: "Cong Shuang suddenly asked me this because she wanted to tell me that you guided Wenxin's cultivation, but without the title of master and disciple, as you spent more and more time together, you secretly developed feelings for each other and wanted to make a lifelong commitment, but for various reasons you were unable to do so. I suddenly had the idea of taking her as a disciple, and you wanted to tell me that you like her."
Xi Congshuang nodded: "That's right."
Xi Huaizhen: "The reason you have such concerns, did you already know about this?"
After all, no matter how much you love reading short stories, you can't go around asking whether the cultivation world accepts master-disciple couples.
People will think you're a crazy person with ulterior motives, just like asking people on the street whether they accept real incestuous relationships—it's terrifying.
Their purpose was seen through.
“…” Xi Congshuang nodded again, “That’s right.”
They had ulterior motives, but dared not be blatant, for fear of frightening people.
Su Wenxin: "…………"
Xi Huaizhen: "Don't worry, Mom will hold the sky up for you even if it falls."
Xi Congshuang: "Thank you, Mother."
The mother and daughter were both incredibly calm, while Su Wenxin, standing nearby, was practically fuming. She lifted the tablecloth and crawled under the table to hide.
Lan Hui suddenly turned her head, nearly twisting her neck as a Nascent Soul cultivator; she was utterly shocked.
Master, why aren't you shocked?
She was shocked when she realized this, and then she understood why Su Wenxin believed in the young palace master no matter what happened, and why the young palace master was determined to take the person away with his last bit of spiritual power.
What else could it be but because they developed feelings for each other?
If she only cared about one thing, it would seem like their relationship wasn't deep enough. If she asked herself honestly, as the senior sister of the sect, she also cared about the safety of every junior sister in the sect, but she really couldn't do what the young palace master did...
If this isn't love, then what is it?
Lan Hui seemed to have a realization and turned to look into the distance.
Cultivators have excellent eyesight and can see from afar a corner of the main palace at the foot of the mountain, where someone seems to be standing next to the main palace waving a long stick.
A long stick?
Upon closer inspection, Lan Hui recognized the Demon Lord outside the palace gates, who was using a fishing rod to tie silver fish to catch cranes.
The silverfish were the cranes' favorite food, but the Demon Lord, relying on his superior cultivation, controlled the fishing rod and line, refusing to give them any, which amused the cranes so much that they flew all over the sky.
Li Xiangyue burst into laughter: "Hahahaha! Stupid crane, you can't get any!"
Lan Hui fell into a deep silence. No wonder her master was always calm and composed.
There is such a Daoist partner.
Turning his head to look at Xi Congshuang, he realized that it was hard to be surprised to have such a daughter.
Life is so uneventful, so uneventful.
But Lan Hui didn't realize that her master, who dared to choose the Demon Lord as his Daoist partner, was already an extraordinary being.
Another day of ruthlessness and confusion.
————————
In this family of three, three people are very capable.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com