Chapter 66 A New Journey, My Darling.
Hua Deng left the space alone for Chen Zhou and Yin Zejing.
Yin Zejing's consciousness was attached to the broken sword, and it was already close to becoming transparent; it wouldn't last much longer.
She guessed that the two had something to talk about, even though Shen Zhou looked indifferent, as if he had nothing to say.
After she left, Yin Zejing turned around and teased, "When I was making this coffin, you promised to come and see me. You only remembered now. Isn't that a bit disloyal?"
According to common sense, he should have been buried in the Yin family after his death, but he knew that Chen Xi did not like that place, so a long time ago, he had his coffin made and placed in a tomb he designed himself.
He also told Shen Zhou, "There is a sword in the coffin, and my divine consciousness is stored in the sword. I will be able to sense you when you arrive. If I die first, remember to come and see me."
He clearly said yes, but he hasn't come all these years.
Faced with his condemnation, Shen Zhou simply said, "In two more lifetimes, my power will reach its peak, and the cycle of reincarnation will end. Wouldn't it be better for me to come see you then?"
Yin Zejing hadn't expected this answer. After a long silence, he asked, "So, why are you changing your mind now?"
Shen Zhou: "Because I'm doing well, I can come and see you."
There will never be a moment like this again.
Yin Zejing smiled and said, "Then you'd better stay healthy, since my divine sense can only appear once."
Shen Zhou said, "I know."
“But, Ah Zhou,” he asked, “it takes hundreds of years for a reincarnation. By then, will you still be able to stay by her side?”
"Or do you want to stay?"
Shen Zhou was unable to answer.
“You hesitated,” Yin Zejing sighed.
“Yes.” Shen Zhou did not deny it.
Yin Zejing smiled and said, "If it were me, I would definitely stay."
Shen Zhou said, "Do I need to learn from you?"
Yin Zejing was speechless. His eye twitched violently: "Do you know your personality is worse than before?"
Shen Zhou remained unmoved: "I've always been like this; you've been dead for too long and have forgotten everything."
Yin Zejing took a deep breath and waved his hand weakly: "Forget it, you should leave now. If we keep talking, I really want to punch you."
Shen Zhou remained unmoved, his gaze sweeping over them: "You expect us to leave empty-handed?"
Yin Zejing: "...What do you want to do?"
Shen Zhou: "Where did you put your magic weapon?"
Yin Zejing: "!"
He roared, "Damn it! I knew you were up to no good!"
When Hua Deng returned, she found Yin Zejing lying on the ground for some reason, while Shen Zhou was holding a jade pendant and seemed to be in a good mood.
Upon seeing her, Shen Zhou threw the jade pendant at her: "Go open the door and get your magic weapon."
Hua Deng hurriedly caught it: "What kind of magic weapon is this?"
Yin Zejing raised his head from the ground and pointed weakly: "There, that tree. Put the jade pendant on it, and when the door opens, you can go in and pick whatever you like."
Hua Deng walked over, pressed the jade pendant down, and turned back: "This isn't right, it's full of your things..."
With a click, the door opened, instantly blinding her.
Bright lights: Pupil earthquake.
Shen Zhou walked behind her and casually picked up a string of beads from the mountain of magical treasures: "Bling bling?"
Hua Deng quickly pressed his hand down: "You still remember? Never mind, he's still your friend... Hey, don't open my Qiankun Ring, what's already inside? It's all your fault, I didn't want it."
“…” Yin Zejing smiled.
No wonder you two are a couple.
Shen Zhou plundered his treasure trove with the behavior of a robber.
Fortunately, Hua Deng still had a conscience and soon covered up the Qiankun Ring, refusing to take it back no matter what.
Yin Zejing patted his chest and breathed a sigh of relief.
He floated up from the ground, squatted on the coffin lid, and glanced around at Hua Deng and Shen Zhou. His face showed no anger, only a smile.
Since their reunion at the Heavenly Fate Sect, Shen Zhou has become an outrageously repressed individual.
Especially after he became possessed by a demon, in order to prevent himself from going out of control, he abandoned the desires of a normal person and had almost nothing except the sword in his hand.
But even this kind of person will now pick and choose among his treasures, saying this is "ugly" and that is "vulgar".
It's as if those ten thousand years never existed; they remain exactly the same.
After selecting the treasures, Hua Deng was dragged away by Chen Zhou.
She was a little dazed, and tried her best to wave goodbye to Yin Zejing. But Shen Zhou strode away without saying goodbye to Yin Zejing.
"Wait a minute, where's Yi Qing? Where's Pei Jianming? We can't just leave them behind, can we?" Hua Deng asked, following his steps.
“Yin Zejing will send them out,” Shen Zhou said.
"So, those who broke in here?"
"They've all been sent out."
Hua Deng nodded. This was similar to the plot in the original novel. The people who came to the Sword Immortal's Tomb gained nothing, but fortunately, no one was injured or killed.
She had thought the cultivators who came here were quite skilled, but it turned out that Yin Zejing had simply shown mercy.
They left the valley filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers, and returned to the seemingly endless maze.
This time, Shen Zhou did not resort to violence and instead patiently followed Yin Zejing's ideas to choose the correct route.
Hua Deng was led by the hand, and all she had to do was close her eyes and walk forward.
Bored, she said idly, "Once we get out, we'll head to Yangzhou, back to my home, so you can meet my parents and sister."
"Um."
"Can't you express your excitement?"
"cannot."
Hua Deng scoffed and shook his head, "You're not well-behaved at all. Why did your parents name you 'Good Boy'?"
She couldn't help but laugh after she finished speaking, and her laughter was so unrestrained that she bumped into the back of the person in front of her, and then met his cold and deep eyes.
"Did Yin Zejing tell you that?"
Hua Deng rubbed her nose innocently and said, "What's wrong? Didn't your parents name you so that you could call them by their names? But I have to say, you were so cute when you were little, you should have been called 'Good Boy'."
She laughed so hard she couldn't stand up straight, while Shen Zhou pinched her chin and watched her laugh coldly.
His eyes held a dangerous glint in them, and Hua Deng had no doubt that if they weren't still in the tomb passage, he would never have spared her.
Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do at this point, so she quickly resorted to her arrogant self: "Am I right? Why are you reacting so strongly? Has no one ever called you that before?"
Shen Zhou gripped her waist tightly, forcing her to stay, and sneered, "Besides you, who else would know? Even if they did, I could kill them."
"Oh," Hua Deng said with a drawn-out, smiling tone, "Then why didn't you kill me?"
Shen Zhou lowered his head and bit her lip until it bled before licking away the blood. She then bit him back.
Blood filled the mouths of the two men.
Shen Zhou said in a deep voice, "I want to kill, but I can't bear to."
This was probably the first time he had admitted to being "reluctant" to part with it. Hua Deng's eyes inexplicably stung, and she pressed the wound on the corner of his mouth, smiling as she said, "Then you would be willing to part with someone else? This nickname was given to me by your good friend."
“I’m willing to give him up.” Shen Zhou said without hesitation, “It’s a pity his body is gone.”
Otherwise, he would definitely have kicked him a couple of times.
Hua Deng patted his head and said helplessly, "Don't make it sound so scary... Luckily there was only a sword and a longevity lock there, otherwise you really would have succeeded in getting your revenge."
She sensed that Shen Zhou paused, his body still, and asked softly, "Longevity Lock?"
“Yes, a longevity lock,” Hua Deng said blankly. “I saw Chen Xi’s name written on it… Didn’t you give it to me?”
“…It was me who gave it to him.” Shen Zhou slowly straightened up, his voice hoarse. “But Yin Zejing never told me that he also put the longevity lock there.”
In a flash, Hua Deng understood something.
If Yin Zejing's consciousness resides in the broken sword, then wouldn't the longevity lock be—
She and Shen Zhou turned around together.
Under the dim blue light, a wisp of green shadow flashed past from behind the stone wall, disappearing in an instant, like an illusion.
"..."
After a long while, Shen Zhou turned around and said, "It's nothing, let's go."
He gripped the lantern tightly and, without hesitation, stepped out of the maze.
The sunlight suddenly burst into view, and the outside was just as it had been when I arrived, with the streetlights raising their hands to shield themselves from the dazzling sunlight.
Shen Zhou stepped forward, stood on high ground, and formed a mudra with his hands.
Then she saw the surroundings change drastically. Spiritual energy flowed, wind and clouds gathered, and all the trees and flowers disappeared, suppressing and burying the entire space.
As the dust settled, the hand seals were completely completed.
The Sword Immortal's Tomb is now forever buried underground, where no one will disturb it again.
Inside the cemetery.
Yin Zejing sensed the change in spiritual energy, looked up and said, "He did do one good thing after all."
The woman beside him appeared silently and said expressionlessly, "It's over."
Yin Zejing turned around and laughed, "I didn't expect that after so long, he wouldn't even be able to lie anymore."
What's the point of happiness or unhappiness?
Those who reincarnate never meet a good end in any of their lifetimes, and that person's current body, on the verge of collapse, is undoubtedly proof of that.
“At least he found someone to be with him,” Chen Xi said.
"That's true," Yin Zejing said. "Aren't you going to see him?"
"The dead need not appear before him."
Yin Zejing clutched his chest, feigning sadness: "You're making it sound like you're insulting me."
Chen Xi smiled slightly, neither confirming nor denying.
Yin Zejing shook his head: "When will you two siblings be able to have a proper talk?"
Chen Xi glanced at him casually: "You didn't tell him that you remember everything either."
Yin Zejing just smiled and remained silent.
Yes, he remembers, of course he remembers.
He remembered how he perished in the Qilin Prison, and how he fought with all his might to retain a sliver of his soul, wanting to say goodbye to Shen Zhou.
Yin Zejing said, "I shouldn't have said that to him."
He shouldn't have said that he should let Shen Zhou go see for him that world without heavenly tribulations.
Chen Xi said, "No matter what you say, he will do it, and he has already succeeded."
Yin Zejing let out a long breath and said lightly, "That's right, let him handle his own affairs. The two of us will just sleep here until the end of time."
It seemed to be the same back in Qilin Prison, where he held Chen Xi's hand and slept with her at the bottom of the sea.
This time, however, flowers and butterflies bid them farewell; the wind was gentle and the sun was warm, and they were unafraid of worldly affairs.
...
The Qilin Prison, set up by three immortals, is a true hell where one can only enter and not leave.
It was ten days later when Yin Zejing's remnant soul left the East Sea.
He struggled inside for ten days, but ultimately failed.
When he emerged, dawn had not yet broken; the sea and sky were a deep blue, thick fog blanketed the area, and the waves lapped gently.
He found Shen Zhou, who had been waiting for him, on the shore and said, "I'm sorry, I failed."
Shen Zhou sat there, looking ahead without looking at him, and after a while said, "I know."
Yin Zejing also sat down. However, as a remnant soul, he probably didn't have the concept of sitting; to be precise, he simply changed his posture and floated.
He said, "I almost succeeded, but fate blocked me, and I couldn't get the Heavenly Secret Jade."
Shen Zhou still said, "I know."
Yin Zejing then burst into laughter, and couldn't stop laughing.
"The people of this world are pitiful... Those who do evil and commit wrongdoings are not punished by Heaven; those who bully the weak are not punished by Heaven."
His smile gradually twisted, and his bloodshot eyes were filled with resentment.
"We have cultivated ourselves for hundreds of years, seeking only to hear the Dao and save all living beings. May the Heavenly Dao annihilate us!"
After he finished speaking, he took a breath and gritted his teeth, saying, "I can only ask you to go and see for me that world without heavenly tribulations."
Shen Zhou listened quietly, then finally looked at him and asked, "Why are you all unwilling to wait for me?"
Yin Zejing was stunned for a moment. The intense hatred in his eyes dimmed, and he said in a low voice, "I'm sorry."
Shen Zhou said, "You all seem to really like saying sorry."
Yin Zejing smiled wryly and said, "I've turned you into a person again."
Shen Zhou said, "I have always been alone."
Yin Zejing met his gaze, but neither of them spoke.
Shen Zhou remained silent. A wind rose at sea, ruffling his hair. His gaze remained familiar, calm and serene.
Yin Zejing muttered to himself, "Why did it turn out like this?"
He thought for a moment and could only come up with one answer: "Maybe, as Chen Xi said, everything we've done is meaningless."
“No, it won’t.” At this moment, Shen Zhou said, “It’s meaningless.”
As dawn broke, the cold sunlight pierced through the clouds, illuminating his silent face.
He said, "I assure you."
"No matter how many times it is repeated... a thousand times, ten thousand times, a thousand years, ten thousand years, I will tear apart the illusion of this world."
Each word was spoken calmly and forcefully; it was a promise without the slightest falsehood, a vow that could never be erased.
Yin Zejing felt no joy. He stared blankly at the person opposite him, a sudden panic rising in his heart, as if a piece of his heart had collapsed.
Countless times, Shen Zhou walked behind him, behind Chen Xi, and said to them, "Wait for me."
This time, however, Yin Zejing grabbed his hand and said, "Don't go."
With a smile on his face, as if he were still at the Heavenly Fate Sect, as if they were just discussing trivial matters, he said casually, "I will come to find you. Goodbye, Zejing."
The sun rose completely above the sea level.
The fog dissipated, and the sea breeze was blowing.
The young man stood alone on the shore, bending down to pick up a sword sheath that had surfaced in the sea.
The scabbard was still stained with blood, but he didn't wipe it off; he simply hung it behind his back.
The wind is gentle and the sun is shining brightly today.
With his younger sister's wooden dragonfly tucked in his arms and his best friend's sword sheath on his back, the young man walked into the distance in the morning light, never looking back, embarking on a new journey.
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