Chapter 43 Just Friends
Yan Shuoyun spent almost half a month without eating or drinking, researching the matter of the Divine Soul Contract in the Scripture Pavilion, and finally made some progress.
Yan Shuoyun said, "The Divine Soul Contract only connects the souls of two people. In the eyes of the Heavenly Dao, the two are considered as one individual, hence the shared joys and sorrows, honor and disgrace."
Hong Xuzi, who was opposite him, didn't even blink.
Hong Xuzi knew these things even better than Yan Shuoyun. When he heard the latter's words, he just squinted and nodded, giving a perfunctory indication that he was listening.
Yan Shuoyun didn't care about Hong Xuzi's attitude and continued, "Therefore, the two parties in the soul contract are not Daoist partners."
Having vaguely guessed what Yan Shuoyun was about to say, Hong Xuzi finally looked up and stared at Yan Shuoyun, his eyebrows twitching slightly.
Yan Shuoyun remained expressionless, and continued, "If one of the soul partners becomes a Daoist companion with another person, the Heavenly Dao will naturally discover the oversight."
Hong Xuzi scoffed.
"Do you think the heavens are so easy to manipulate? You've done this and you think you can get away unscathed? I'm afraid everyone involved will be utterly destroyed."
Yan Shuoyun shook his head and said definitively, "No, only one person will be punished by heaven."
Before Hongxuzi could ask, he continued to explain, "When the Daoist couple forms a bond, they will be protected by heaven and earth and isolated from the outside world for a moment. This is the best opportunity to sever the soul contract. As long as they act before the Heavenly Dao discovers it, they will be safe and sound."
Hong Xuzi narrowed his eyes. "To attack the soul of a Daoist partner?"
A soul contract is essentially a connection between the souls; severing this connection will inevitably damage the souls.
To attack the soul of one's Daoist partner during a grand ceremony witnessed by Heaven and Earth—the consequences are predictable. Long ago, an evil cultivator, seeking to avoid karma, impersonated a righteous cultivator and tricked someone into becoming his Daoist partner. On the day of the ceremony, he forcibly possessed the other's body, attempting to deceive Heaven. However, his plan failed, and he was struck by heavenly lightning, his soul scattered to the winds.
Yan Shuoyun said calmly, "Therefore, only one person will be punished by Heaven."
—That was the one who severed the soul contract.
Hong Xuzi stared at Yan Shuoyun for a while, then suddenly laughed, "You don't seem to be picky about books."
He could tell that Yan Shuoyun had found out about the old incident, but the boy's tone was so certain that he probably knew more than just what happened back then; he probably even knew the technique that the evil cultivator used to possess the body.
They said it out loud, not afraid that he would kill them on the spot for studying evil magic.
Despite his thoughts, Hong Xuzi was not one to be bound by rules. To be honest, he did have some admiration for Yan Shuoyun, but that admiration wasn't enough for him to do anything for him.
Just now, Hong Xuzi paused for a moment before speaking, "Where are you going to find someone willing to die?"
He was staring at Yan Shuoyun as he said this, clearly having a guess about the answer in his mind.
Unexpectedly, another voice responded first, "I'll do it."
As soon as those two words were spoken, a person walked over from a distance; it was Xiao Hanzhou.
Xiao Hanzhou didn't seem to know as much as Yan Shuoyun.
With the reminder from his younger sister Yan Er, who had been staying on Hancang Peak for a long time, and also due to the entanglement with Hong Xuzi by chance, Yan Shuoyun learned early on that Ren Yi and the Sword Master had a close relationship, and went to look up many ancient books in advance.
Xiao Hanzhou learned about these inside stories much later. It wasn't until he happened to overhear Hong Xuzi and Yan Shuoyun's conversation that he first heard about the Soul Contract. After that, he learned about Ren Yi's past experiences and the inside story of the Dao Bone. Shocked by the facts, he no longer cared about the Soul Contract he had initially heard about; all he wanted to do was see Ren Yi.
Even so, Xiao Hanzhou remained quite concerned about this matter while recuperating afterward, and even went to the Scripture Pavilion to try and find some information. However, at that time, Yan Shuoyun had thoroughly searched for all the available books in order to find a way to break the Soul Contract, and had gathered them together and thoroughly examined them. Naturally, Xiao Hanzhou's search was fruitless, and since he did not have the mark given to him by Hong Xuzi that allowed him to freely enter and exit the Scripture Pavilion, he could only look for some vague and ambiguous information on the outer perimeter.
However, Xiao Hanzhou was Xiao Hanzhou after all. He pieced together some barely relevant information and roughly guessed the effect of the Soul Contract. That's why he rushed to find the person, but unexpectedly he overheard these words.
Did their soul vanish and their spirit scatter?
Xiao Hanzhou thought about the consequences implied in Yan Shuoyun's words, but he was not swayed. He owed A Yi a lot and should repay some of it. If this could save A Yi, he would do it willingly.
Xiao Hanzhou was looking for someone and had no way to hide his tracks, so both Hong Xuzi and Yan Shuoyun had already discovered him.
Hong Xuzi never took Xiao Hanzhou seriously from beginning to end, so he naturally didn't bother with him. Yan Shuoyun, on the other hand, was different. In fact, part of the reason he said those words was specifically for Xiao Hanzhou to hear.
If it were to save A-Yi, Yan Shuoyun would certainly be willing to be the one condemned by Heaven, but there is another problem involved.
Hong Xuzi immediately pointed out the key point. He chuckled, his tone not particularly sharp this time, but its flatness made it sound somewhat sarcastic. "Your plan is good, but you'll need cooperation. Putting aside everything else, will that kid be willing to become your Daoist partner?"
As Hong Xuzi spoke, he glanced lightly at Xiao Hanzhou, but his eyes showed no extra emotion. If the person who died was Yan Shuoyun, Hong Xuzi might have felt some emotion, such as "It's not easy to find a junior who suits his taste," but if it was Xiao Hanzhou, who was not related to him, he didn't care at all.
This is indeed the most crucial issue. Yan Shuoyun's method seems flawless at first glance, and now someone is willing to be the unwitting victim, which should be a perfect solution. However, they're overthinking it. Will Qingran, the soul contract partner, be willing to cooperate?
Hong Xuzi still remembers Ren Yi's unwavering answer that day.
He could tell from the sight that the two people bound by the soul contract were equally insane!
That kid was willing to die with Qingran, so why would he become a Daoist partner with someone else just to break the soul contract?
Yan Shuoyun had of course taken this into consideration, and that was precisely why Xiao Hanzhou was the only one who could sever the soul contract.
Yan Shuoyun bowed deeply to Hong Xuzi, "This matter still depends on you, senior. I have heard that the Taichu Sect has a sect-protecting immortal artifact that can reverse cause and effect and allow people to return to the past."
Hongxuzi narrowed his eyes.
His gaze fell on Xiao Hanzhou beside him again, and he finally remembered the "feeling of affection for others" that Yan Shuoyun had mentioned when he refuted the Divine Soul Contract.
But they even know about the "Mirror of Cause and Effect"?
That young Yan really didn't waste the access token he gave to the library.
Hong Xuzi chuckled, his tone unreadable, and said to Yan Shuoyun, "You are indeed a master strategist."
—Everyone was taken advantage of; no one was left out.
Yan Shuoyun gave a bitter smile, "This junior dares not accept such praise. I have only racked my brains, hoping for a sliver of hope."
Hong Xuzi finally agreed to Yan Shuoyun's request, but warned the two that the Mirror of Cause and Effect could only be used once, and they would not have a second chance.
The reason why immortal artifacts are called immortal artifacts is precisely because they do not belong to the cultivation world. Therefore, only immortals can use them. In the cultivation world, there is usually only one type of immortal—the disintegrating immortal.
Coincidentally, that was Hongxuzi.
In this entire illusion, there are actually two people whose divine consciousness was not left behind before their fall, but their real divine souls.
One is the Sword Master, who is the sealing array's core and cannot reincarnate; the other is Hong Xuzi, who failed his tribulation and became a rogue immortal, and who would never be reincarnated.
If Hongxuzi wanted to, he could actually live a very long time, until the entire cultivation world would revere him as a living ancestor.
But times have changed, and everything is different now. When he wanted to look around, the entire cultivation world was completely devoid of any hope. In the end, he chose to let his soul sleep in this illusion that concerned the sect's inheritance, as a way to do something for the sect that raised him, and perhaps in his dreams he could relive his long and arduous life.
Yan Shuoyun had guessed this, which is why he made this request to Hongxuzi.
Fortunately, his gamble paid off.
The limitations of immortal artifacts that can reverse the past are naturally extremely great; even a rogue immortal can only use them three times.
Hongxuzi has already used up two of his opportunities.
It was precisely because of those two experiences that he didn't really think highly of Yan Shuoyun's proposal.
When people want to change the past, they often want to salvage or retain something.
The first time, Hong Xuzi tried to save his junior brother, but Qing Ran's master still perished early, only in a slightly different way; the second time, he tried to save his junior nephew, and the current outcome already tells us what will happen...
These two experiences were enough for Hongxuzi to understand that the Mirror of Cause and Effect might indeed be able to change past facts, but it could not change fate.
In the end, nothing really changed.
Therefore, even as he watched the Taichu Sect decline step by step, Hongxuzi did not attempt to intervene.
This time, although Hong Xuzi didn't hold out much hope, he didn't stop them. He simply warned the two that they only had one chance, and said nothing more.
Hongxuzi couldn't explain his own feelings either.
Perhaps he had slept for too long, and when he suddenly encountered the younger generation, he was infected by their drive and even had a strange feeling that he could break free from fate.
Is it just an illusion?
Hong Xuzi muttered to himself, then ultimately just chuckled. Who knows what the final outcome will be? Let's wait and see.
Hong Xuzi's help this time was not solely for the purpose of protecting his nephew's soul contract partner one last time.
He still remembered his worries these past few days about "Qing Ran possibly wanting to destroy the seal." Although it hadn't been confirmed, Hong Xuzi thought that if the other party in the soul contract was still alive, Qing Ran wouldn't be willing to destroy everything.
Having come this far, Hong Xuzi has experienced and witnessed far too much loss of teachers and friends, betrayal by close relatives and fellow disciples... He has long since learned to calmly face many things, just as he once watched the Taichu Sect gradually disappear into the past.
However, there are always some things that even he doesn't want to see, and unless absolutely necessary, he ultimately doesn't want to confront his only junior apprentice with swords.
Hongxuzi came to discuss the Dao with Xiaohao once again.
Ren, the Sword Master (Alt Version), interprets "..."
These past few days, he's been driven crazy by the attitude of the Chosen One, so he simply handed over his main account to the system for help with control and transferred his main mental energy to the Sword Master alt account to find some peace and quiet. But he never expected that the alt account would also be in such a difficult situation.
It wasn't that there was anything wrong with the act of "discussing the Dao," but Ren Yi always felt that his senior uncle's gaze towards him carried a certain worried or bitter and resentful meaning, which made him feel uneasy.
After a difficult decision between the two, Ren Yi still felt that the "White Moonlight" character card was more painful, and decided to focus his main efforts on the Sword Master alt account.
Even so, he still devoted a portion of his mental energy to his main identity.
After all, the system is not a human. It would be easy for others to notice something was wrong if the system controlled the alternate accounts alone. Moreover, this time the chosen one seemed to know a lot about his alternate accounts, so Ren Yi dared not completely entrust the system to him.
But Ren Yi soon discovered that with all these additions and subtractions, his current situation was almost a standard dual-powered state of "spiritual power equally divided on both sides".
Ren Yi: "..."
Originally, I just wanted some peace and quiet, but after all that, I ended up suffering twice as much.
Ren Yi felt he couldn't possibly be that stupid, so he decisively shifted the blame onto the Chosen One. If it weren't for the other party's attitude these past few days, would he have been so confused as to be in this state?!
Just as Ren Yi was about to switch accounts, he suddenly realized something was wrong.
Xiao Hanzhou suggested that he and Dahao go for a stroll around Hancang Peak.
It's really nothing. (Ren Yi felt) that the two of them had a pretty good relationship. It was understandable that Xiao Hanzhou felt bored on Hancang Peak and wanted to take him out for a walk.
However, compared to the other party's behavior over this period, this sudden suggestion seemed somewhat strange—especially given that Ren Yi had already subtly indicated that he was not very willing to leave Han Cang Peak. It should be noted that Xiao Hanzhou had completely followed his wishes during this time; he wouldn't even bring up something a second time, let alone be rejected, even if Ren Yi only slightly frowned at it.
—No, that's not right!
Just as Ren Yi was about to shift his main focus to the toilet, he quickly noticed that Hong Xuzi's attitude today was also different from usual.
Compared to the veiled and seemingly pointed explanations of the past few days, this time, although the other party's expression was as strange as ever, he was genuinely discussing the Dao in a serious manner. Not only did he not include any personal agenda, but he also kept throwing questions at him. This was certainly not a test. Although Hong Xuzi was indeed a generation older than the Sword Venerable, at their level of cultivation, even master and disciple had their own paths. Each person's path was different. Although they could exchange ideas, the end of this path was ultimately a solitary journey.
Ren Yi felt that Hong Xuzi's current behavior seemed more like... trying to stall him?
Ren Yi?
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